Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story
by SilverHuntresses
Summary: What happens when the real world and the webtoon world meet? Will Solace is a cardiothoracic doctor whose father writes the most popular webtoon ever - W. What would happen when he realizes that Nico di Angelo is as real as he is? Don't the characters, Rick Riordan does. Don't own the plot, MBC does. I just joined them for fun. Cover made by ArtisticBookie180
1. Episode 1, Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

Writing Styles:

\- Normal description.

\- "Normal conversation."

\- **Important event / place.**

\- _"Reporters from TV."_

\- _Thoughts._

_\- 'Screams from extras'_

\- **_"Information from the event."_**

* * *

**Episode 1: Prologue**

* * *

What if I told you that there's a parallel world living inside your own?

One you have no idea it's there?

Of course, you don't believe me... In that case, I'll show you...

**Athens, Greece / New York, United States - 2004**

"_Shall we take a look at different events of the 2004 Athens Olympics?"_

Houses, streets and different workplaces were hearing these words right now. People didn't want to lose the moment when one of their own could be holding a gold medal. The moment of pride was about to come, though, as presenters focused on just one person.

"_There is some very welcome news from the shooting team. Right now at the shooting venue, the 50-meter range finals are being held for men. Our American athlete Nico di Angelo is showing unexpected growth."_

"_Yes. He is very young, yet is showing us great skills."_

"_He is only in his junior year in high school, yet he is overcoming a great thing in the Olympics. I think we can look forward to something surprising."_

"_Yes, we should cheer him on."_

"_Yes, as we look forward to a surprise gold medal, we will turn the screen over to the shooting center."_

All eyes of the nation were now on the shooting range, paying attention to just one young man, ignoring the words of the journalist that were explaining it for everyone at home.

"_Yes, this is the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre. The men's 50-meter pistol event finals have already begun. American athlete Nico di Angelo is aiming for the gold medal. Coming in at 5th place from the preliminaries, currently, after shooting his 7th shot, Athlete Nico di Angelo is leading at first."_

"_**Nico di Angelo, Line 3. 10.6"**_

All eyes were now on the young yet-of-age Nico di Angelo. Although wearing his uniform paid him no favors, his young face was showing how relaxed he was. He could even be considered a rebellious man in terms of rules, not only for being young in a group of older competitors, nor because of his hair falling slightly over his protection glass, but by the way he would stare at his competitors with a smirk in place. Girls around the world would be swooning for his beauty, and that smirk, no doubt.

"_**Ukraine, Ivan Asimov, Line 4. 9.9"**_

Unlike Nico, his Ukraine counterpart, Ivan Asimov, showed the seriousness and respect his competitors and the sport deserved. He looked focused and proud of using the colors of his country. In fact, all the rest of the competitors were looking the same way.

Nico di Angelo was the odd one.

And everyone had noticed that.

"_Honestly, in the beginning, Nico di Angelo wasn't an athlete we were expecting a gold medal from. The athletes next to him are currently 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the world."_

"_That's right. It seems like Nico di Angelo has become a national representative for the first time and this is his first experience on an international stage."_

"_Yes, it is. This 17-year-old young athlete is doing very well amongst the internationally ranked. [...] We'll see as Nico di Angelo athlete has been doing a very good job so far."_

"_**For the next competition shot, load."**_

A pin could have dropped and everyone would have turned to it demanding silence. The tension would be felt in the air as the competitors did as asked and loaded their weapons.

"_**Attention."**_

Everyone's arms and eyes were focused on their lines and aim respectively.

"_**Three, two, one. Start."**_

Everyone takes their time.

"_Now, it is the 8th shot."_

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

"_10.2. A 10.2 came out! 10.2!"_

Behind the lines, Nico di Angelo's coach and father could be seen celebrating this while his Ukraine counterpart looked slightly worried.

"_Asimov got 9.5! 9.5. Now if this happens, it won't be very easy to catch up."_

"_That's true, but Athlete Nico di Angelo can't celebrate prematurely. Until the end, until the end, he must stay calm. _

The only words Nico could hear at the moment were from his father on the sidelines. Unknown to him, he was repeating exactly what the sports commentators were saying.

"Until the end, calmly with concentration."

"_Yes, it seems like the coach is telling him to be calm right now."_

"_Yes the person you're looking at now, Coach Hades di Angelo, this man is Nico di Angelo athlete's father."_

"_Yes, that's right."_

"_After training him to focus, he made it here within 3 years under the team."_

"_Wow, it seems like he's a born athlete. Now, Athlete Nico di Angelo. Okay, now it's the 9th shot."_

"_**Attention. Three, two, one. Start."**_

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

"_What is going on? It seems like he was thinking too much. _7.9. A 7.9 came out."

Here, Hades sighed and suffered a little bit. An almost perfect score before and now, a 7.9? What was wrong? Even Nico could be getting a little nervous over the result. However, Ivan Asimov looked more relieved than anything after his shot.

"_A very critical mistake has been made in the 9th shot. Ukraine's Asimov athlete got 10.2."_

"_So he got a 10.2. Now if this happens, he overtook him by 0.2 points."_

"_Ah, yes. 653.4 and 653.2. Now with a mere difference of 0.2 points, the color of the medal is at stake at the final shot. I guess the strength of age is coming out now at the last stand. Is inexperience holding Athlete Nico di Angelo back?"_

"_It seems so. With it being his first international competition... But still! Athlete Nico di Angelo can do more than well. He has to concentrate until the end, until the end."_

"_Yes."_

"_**For the next competition shot, load. Attention. Three, two, one. Start."**_

Upon hearing those words, Nico grabbed his weapon and loaded it, blowing at the cartridge to calm himself or good luck, knowing that he would only have one more chance to win the gold medal. Anyone at home would consider that earning a silver medal with only seventeen years it was a proud moment itself.

"_It's a nerve-wracking moment. Now, it's the last, the 10th shot."_

"_10.4. Asimov athlete has shot a 10.4."_

"_The restraint of Asimov is quite outstanding."_

"_Now if this happens, Nico di Angelo athlete has no choice but to shoot more than a 10.7."_

"_Nico di Angelo is still just holding out. He needs to shoot during the given 75 seconds, but it seems like he's very nervous."_

"_He needs to empty his mind, Athlete Kang."_

Even Nico's father, Hades was getting worried at the non-action of his son. He didn't have a choice but to pressure him.

"Nico, shoot. I said shoot!"

"_Honestly, even coming this far is a big accomplishment."_

"_It is. All the other athletes have shot their last bullet, but Athlete Nico di Angelo has still not shot."_

"_At this point, he needs to shoot."_

"_Now, 55 seconds have passed. He seems to be shaking, Athlete Nico di Angelo. /i_

"_He needs to shoot as it is."_

"_He has to at least earn a bronze medal."_

"_Now, there are 5 seconds remaining, 5 seconds. Now, five, four, three-"_

"_He needs to hurry!"_

"_-two, one."_

"_He's shot. He's shot with one second left on the clock. The result is... 10.9! 10.9! It really is 10.9!"_

No one could believe the result! The crowd went wild while the still shocked Nico di Angelo celebrated the shot with his father, who couldn't hide his happiness- if jumping onto his son's arms were any indications. People all around the world who had rooted for the young man were jumping and screaming in excitement while the photographers were quick to join the celebrating pair and snapping pictures.

Other coaches were trying to console their athletes, knowing that it was a fair shot.

"It's really a gold medal!"

"It's a gold medal! So very impressive. Isn't he only 17?"

"It's the newest star, Nico di Angelo!"

* * *

"It works! It works, it works!"

It was a quiet afternoon in the di Angelo house. In fact, it was a soccer night! Hades was sitting on the couch of his home, along with his wife Maria and his two youngest children, Bianca and Hazel, shouting at the TV while the game was still ongoing.

You know, typical sports night.

"He's dribbling. Go! Go! Breakthrough! Through!"

"Over there over there!"

"Shoot! Shoot!"

"Victory! This way that way!"

The house was decorated with the pride and joy that was Nico, even his younger sisters admired him. Medals and trophies were elegantly displayed for everyone to see, along with newspaper articles and pictures of the most recent event, the Olympics. And, at the center of this picture display, a family photo that showed the love of the family.

"In between, in between! shoot!"

"Shoot! In between!"

"Go Go Go."

"Shoot! Shoot!"

"It's going up, it's going up! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!"

"Shoot! Shoot!"

"What was that!"

However, everything was about to go terribly wrong.

"Is it Nico?" Maria was the first one that heard the door being opened. Soccer game being forgotten, she got up from the couch where she was seated and went greet her only son, the only way a worried and loving mother would do. "Why are you coming now?" Upon hearing his wife, Hades decided to send a friendly jab to his son.

"Where have you been going around, missing such an important game? It's the ending."

Maria's face changed from happiness at the jab of her husband to son to fear when seeing the person in front of her. To pure shock.

Not hearing his wife or son talking or even walking into the home for a few minutes, Hades started to worry about. Especially when hearing a loud noise, as if someone or something had fallen to the ground. He got up and shared a last glance at his girls who were enjoying the game.

"Climax! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Pass, pass! Come on!"

"Goal!"

Seeing his wife on the floor only gave him more questions than answers.

"Honey?"

The blood pooling under her head stunned him, but not more like the weapon being pointed at him.

"Shoot, shoot."

Hades di Angelo knew no more.

"Goal!"

The set of parents ignored that the intruder wouldn't leave yet. He calmly walked to where the girls were, enjoying the game and ignoring the whole situation. Right now in their minds, soccer was the most important thing"

"Shoot, shoot, shoot!"

Bianca di Angelo saw his first. Her surprised face was short lived as she fell onto the floor the same way that her parents did. With a bullet to the head.

"Let's go!"

The youngest, Hazel, had just realized that her sister had fallen to the floor and, curious and fearful turned around from her seat, watching the frightening sight of a gun being pointed at her temple.

She didn't have time to run or do something else.

* * *

"_Today's news. Two days ago we reported the murder case of a whole family in Putnam Lake. The police determined the most likely suspect of the case is the son Nico di Angelo, the Athens Olympics gold medalist. Let's go to the scene."_

People could not believe what the reporters were saying. Not long ago, the entire country had been celebrating the winning of the young man and now, his life would be turned upside down because of this.

"_Yes, I'm here at the Putnam Police Station. A little earlier, national athlete, Nico di Angelo was just arrested on a charge of murdering his parents. di Angelo arrested as a suspect in Putnam family murder case. The national shooting team coach Hades di Angelo and his wife Maria di Angelo, their daughters Bianca, and Hazel were found shot in their living room on the morning of the 15th."_

The gruesome sight of the young man being dragged from a police car and into the police station. Nico tried to hide his face but the shock was obvious as the photographers and journalists wanted the sight of him. Group of forensics was working on his family home, processing it. Thankfully, the bodies of the di Angelo family had been removed.

"_While the police were interrogating Nico di Angelo, who was not at home during the time of the incident, Among the trash bags located 500 meters away from the murder scene, the pistol the culprit used was found."_

The police were quick into making a statement for the hungry reporters.

"With the 5.5 mm pistol that was found near the crime scene. There we found the victims' blood as well as the fingerprints of the son, Nico di Angelo."

"The pistol used in the crime was confirmed by the police to be the pistol Nico di Angelo used in the Olympics."

"_Yes, there is no way but for this to be a shocking case. Reporter Kim, don't many of the citizens remember the touching moment from the Athens Olympics? That youthful appearance when running into the arms of his father is still fresh in our minds. If Nico di Angelo is really the culprit, what could have been his motives?"_

"_The exact motives have not been revealed yet, but according to surrounding witnesses, after the Olympics, he quit shooting, and enrolled in a computer engineering school. They say this created tension between the father and son."_

"_Still, I don't think that reason alone would be enough to explain this horrific incident caused by the Olympian."_

"_That's true. For that reason, there was plenty of backlash against the prosecutor for so hastily arresting him."_

While this was happening, Nico was sitting on a chair in an interrogation cell, hearing the prosecutor asking- no, demanding answers and painting a picture of him being the murderer.

"We have two witnesses saying they saw you in the front of the building. How are you going to explain this?"

Nico kept quiet, not even looking at the prosecutor. However, prosecutor Zeus Olympia was only getting started.

"A week before the incident, you fought with your father, and you said you're about to die because he kept picking fights with you whenever he's annoyed. You told your friends while drinking that you wished your father would disappear, right?"

"No... I didn't..." Nico admitted. Yes, he wouldn't deny that his father was not happy that he would stop practicing the sport he loved, but not to kill him. However, Zeus was not even convinced.

"Alright. You must've wanted to become independent. Alright." Zeus getting up and facing around the interrogation room didn't help the already scared Nico. But that was his goal. "That's probably what happened. It doesn't mean that you should shoot your father." It was then when Nico realized that this was a man was dead set into blaming him for the murder of his family "When you were stopped you even shot your mother. As you were shooting, you didn't give a fuck about anyone and decided to shoot them all. Why? Were you suddenly afraid to die after you shot them all? You ran away and came back crying in front of the memorial portraits of your parents." Nico fought against the hold of Zeus, but Zeus had him tight, showing his control. "Do you know what they call bastards like you? Human trash. You need to be forever eliminated from this society. That's my job. Do you understand?"

It was then when Nico started to blame himself for the death of his family.

* * *

Between the arrest and the trial, while confined in prison, Nico only had one visitor: an old friend of his father called Chiron Brunner. Sadly, the man was in a wheelchair, which made it impossible for him to provide more than moral support at the moment.

"Nico... About that prosecutor in charge of your case, Zeus Olympia, he seems to harbor an overwhelming ambition." It was plain obvious for Chiron that Nico was innocent of his charge. "He is planning to go into politics. He seems determined to use your fame to further his position. You've been seized by the wrong person." Nico seemed to understand that however, neither could do anything about it. Sadly, Chiron wasn't finished. "And... it couldn't be postponed anymore so the funeral was held."

For the first time since his imprisonment, Nico di Angelo showed his emotions to someone else as a tear rolled down his cheek upon hearing that he couldn't and had missed his family's funeral.

"I made sure were all place in a sunny place where they would be the happiest, so don't worry too much. You can't get weak. I'm trying to find a way in over 100 possible ways, so have strength." Chiron tried to cheer him up, knowing it was a lost cause. That last information was too much for Nico as he began openly crying as his uncle in all but blood talked.

He was alone now.

* * *

The day of the trial had finally arrived and Nico was in front of the judges, hearing the argument of Zeus Olympia who was trying to blame him for the death of his family. Chiron was there, witnessing the trail but could do nothing.

"When the time and manner of the crime are considered, it is difficult to say it was unpremeditated. Without leaving out a single precaution, he flawlessly plotted to kill his family. It is a shocking moral abomination that shattered the first basic relationship in the Confucian school of thought- that's it, the relationship between parent and child. In addition, the defendant is a public figure. As a role model for youth, the shock that he caused to society is incomparable to any other case."

Nico slowly was comprehending what was happening. They- no, not they. Zeus Olympia alone wanted to use him to not only further his own career at politics but also make of himself an example for society, an example of what would happen if someone else commits the same horrific crime.

"As a way of arousing social moral consciousness, I recommend the most severe punishment under the law for the defendant Nico di Angelo; capital punishment. I strongly request this of you, your honor."

Except for Chiron Brunner in the front row who looked a little pale, the rest of the present at the trail were actively supporting this path of action. Shouts of _'He killed his family!'_, _'Die!'_ and _'How are you still a human after doing such thing?'_ were heard.

However, Nico was slowly putting pieces of a small puzzle together. Uncle Chiron had warned him about Zeus wanting to use him for furthering his career. Obviously, he had to ask for extreme punishment for it. But Nico knew he was innocent and by the looks, Zeus was giving him, he also knew that as well.

Which lead Nico to a horrific yet reasonable conclusion.

Zeus Olympia simply didn't care.

Ignoring that he was in court, Nico only had one goal in mind, to make the guilty pay for what they had done. And no one was more guilty now that Zeus Olympia. He pushed the table he was sitting in front of and launched at the prosecutor. To his shame, security guards stationed on the vicinity had acted quickly and restrained him, not allowing him to do anything more than to scream at him.

"You crazy bastard! How can you do this?" The smirk on Zeus' face was enough for Nico to accept his theory. "How can you do this?! You bastard!"

And here, it's when the real story begins...


	2. Episode 1, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 1: Part 1**

* * *

**Fieldston University Hospital Medical Center**

The rest area of the cardiothoracic department of Fieldston Hospital is what you expect from want-to-be doctors, learning the ropes. Food and books everywhere, as if they had been studied for long. Clothes and toiletries laying around, never sure when they would be needed. Even the weird student or two would be laid down in twin beds taking a power nap isn't strange at all.

What was strange was that the phone was left ringing for a long time!

"Hey, pick up the phone." Finally, one of the students laying around was able to realize that the phone had been going on for a while and demanded his roommate to answer it. Unfortunately for him, his roommate was more asleep than he was! "Hey. Hey, Lee, it's your phone." The beforementioned Lee simply kept on sleeping. "Hey!" This didn't suit the now wide awake student, who was annoyed to be up. "Let's get some sleep please!" Things changed when he saw who was calling.

_**Mad Dog.**_

His senses were finally back.

"Hey... It's the Mad Dog!" His roommate jumped from his sleep and caught the phone the relief student was giving him. "You're dead. It rang over 10 times." He celebrated it wasn't him who he was looking for and decided to go back to bed.

"Hello Professor, it's me, Lee Fletcher."

_"You!"_ Clearly, the person on the other side of the phone was angry.

"Yes?" Lee was clearly still asleep and the yelling was not well received.

_"You punks must be crazed out of your mind, making me call 10 times. Where's Will Solace?!"_

"That's not how..." Finally, Lee's brain engaged whatever was being said to him. "Will Solace?"

Was in that moment that Will Solace realized he was in troubles. Now, he clearly had no signs of sleepiness or even tiredness. However, Lee used the opportunity to get Will in more troubles.

"Yes, the kid's right next to me. Well... it also beats me why he won't pick up his phone even when death looms over his head." Whatever was being said, Will better hurry to get up and be presentable for any emergency. In his rush, he even ignored the ladder of the bed and hit himself with it! "Yes. I understand, yes."

"Pain!"

"He's looking for you." Having accomplished his mission, Lee went back to his nap, leaving Will in his misery.

"It really gosh darn hurts." He immediately grabbed his phone and what he saw there freaked him out even more than before.

_**10 Missed Calls from Mad Dog.**_

"Hey. Hey, hey... why is this on mute?" Will asked out loud as if that answer would solve all of his problems. Lee gave him an answer of his own, totally relaxed.

"If it's 10 missed...then it's a death sentence."

"Why is he looking for me?" Was Will's only question running through his brain. "Why?"

"I don't know. I'll wish for your eternal peace. Austin will..." Whatever Lee was trying to say it got drowned in a wide yawn. But Will wasn't in the mood to listen to what one of his fellow classmates would do. He had to rush!

The doctors and nurses didn't saw this practice as something wrong. Not even the patients saw this as wrong. Emergencies could happen in any minute and doctors should reach the situation immediately.

However, Will's emergency was totally different.

"Katie, hello! Hello!" He greeted very quickly one of the nurses while he was rushing. She knew why he was rushing.

"Doctor! You have traces of drool here." Katie pointed out gently in her face and Will began wiping the corner of his mouth.

"Where's Professor Asclepius? Where is he?"

"I don't know." That only made Will even more nervous as he rushed through the hospital. He couldn't even take the elevator because of the number of people! "Really!? Ah! What do I do?" The only thing he could do while running down the stairs was to pray. "Please... Please!" When he finally reached the cardiothoracic department, he headed to the surgery area. "Where is Professor Asclepius?"

"He's not here." Will was so confused and rushed to the receptionist/nurse station, asking the same, out of breath.

"Where is Professor Asclepius?"

"He hasn't come down yet." Will couldn't understand it.

"Is there no patient for our department?"

"There's none."

_Then, why was the urgency?_

Will didn't have time to question that as he began rushing to the only place he hadn't checked yet. His professor's office. Taking some deep breaths when he reached the door, he pulled his blonde hair away off his face and tried to look as if he hadn't run a marathon through the hospital to see him.

"Professor! It's Will Solace!" He knocked on the door, waiting to be received inside.

_"Come in."_ Was heard from inside. Will opened the door, a little fearful and walked in to be greeted by his professor sitting behind his desk. "Hey, how many minutes have passed since you appeared? Do you want to die?" _Time to be humble, I guess..._

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." Will admitted.

"Well...you clearly went insane and didn't pick up your phone. Is a professor someone easy to you?" It was clear that Professor Asclepius was used to getting his way with his students by the way he was talking. And the students were terrified of him. "Can you ignore a measly professor's call?"

"I'm sorry, this won't happen again. I'm sorry!" Will apologized over and over again, still not understanding why was he being summoned. But, relating '_Mad Dog_', could be anything, so he better not take any chances.

"Are you... Apollo Solace's son?" That was something Will was seriously not expecting.

"Pardon?" He checked, hoping he had heard wrong.

"I never knew you were his son." _What's that got to do with anything...?_

"He is my father." He confirmed.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then, why are you acting like this?" _Alright, even more confusing..._

"What?"

"Your father is author Apollo Solace. How can you be just... Will Solace..." _Are you saying I'm not good enough to be 'me'?!_

"I'm sorry for being "just" Will Solace." He apologized again.

"Then do you live with your parents?" _What is this? An interrogation? Is he trying to be friendly?_

"No, I live with my mother."

"What about your father?"

"My parents divorced..." _Thanks for the reminder, Mad Dog..._

"Did they? Then, do you see your father a lot?"

"From time to time... But, why are you asking about him, I'm really-"

"Tell me a spoiler." Will looked at his professor, needing to hear the interruption of his logical question taken away.

"Pardon?"

"Recently...I became completely obsessed with this. Your father's comic." From his drawer, Will saw Professor Alscepius take out a comic book- more specifically a _manhwa_, a comic designed in the south Korean style Will recognized as his father's favorite. The cover of the manhwa displayed a pair of dark eyes staring at the reader, along with the title of it '**W**' and the number of the volume, number 4. Suddenly, the pieces of the unsolved puzzle were falling and Will understood why he was being summoned. "Why is this so entertaining to me? Of course, I knew that it was a big hit, but the webtoon was awkward so I stuck it out and didn't watch. But then this week is the last week. So I hurried to the bookstore and I bought them, all 33 of them. Look." Will saw the professor pulling out the 33 printed volumes of his father's _manhwa_. "With such difficulty I did. Hey. Because of these, I stayed up two nights straight." _Was he blaming me for this?_ "Why are they so great?"

"Ah.. so that was why you called me here?" Will allowed his professor to finish his rant- God only knew how would he get if he was interrupted while doing so. However, he was relieved that he wasn't in troubles, so he placed his most charming smile.

"You know, I really like the main character. Nico di Angelo, this punk, really has spirit. Even a man would think he's cool."

"He's also cool according to women too." Will added, having heard it from some girls while passing by a book store.

"Are you also a fan of Nico di Angelo?"

"Of course! Who doesn't like him? He's handsome, has great manners, his stare... Gosh, his stare! He's quite sexy." He found himself saying, so much that Alscepius looked uncomfortable.

"_Sexy_?!"

"I'm sorry, I went too far." Will realized, apologizing. In the following second, two things happened.

One, Lee walked into the office.

Two, Professor Alscepius got up from his chair with his hand raised and Will instinctively shrunk. That last wasn't even noticed by the other men in the room.

"How about a high five?" More relaxed that he wasn't getting beat up or reprimanded, Will enthusiastically returned the high five. "Nice to meet you, fellow Nico di Angelo fan! I didn't know you were Nico di Angelo's fan."

"Since when did you like **W**, professor? You should've said so earlier." Will celebrated, extremely happy he wasn't in troubles. Lee was staring at both males without a clue of what was going on.

"You should've told me he was your father!"

"My dad will really like it."

"Professor. Please, sign this." Lee interjected, a document ready for Alscepius to sign. Will simply stood there, happy that was such a light topic going around. However, Alscepius wasn't really paying attention to Lee.

"But... who is the real culprit?" Alscepius wanted to know and Will forced himself to be in an awkward conversation.

"I also don't really know that."

"This week is supposed to be the last, but it still hasn't come out yet. Is there anything you heard from your father?"

"My father doesn't really talk about the story."

"You're his son! Even so, he doesn't tell you?"

"He doesn't."

"Just bring out the spoilers."

"I know him a bit." Lee decided to give his opinion. "And I _know_ there are no two ways with her father." Will nodded his head, admitting the same.

"Really there isn't."

This was not what Alscepius wanted to hear.

"You haven't opened up a heart in surgery, right?" _What does that have to do with anything?_ "I'll let you open up a heart." Will's eyes open wide in surprise. _Was this blackmail?_

"Really?"

"Go find out who the culprit is." Even Lee was surprised by this turn of events. Will's sense of duty and fairness paid a visit at that moment.

"But my dad really, _really_ won't tell me!" He insisted.

"You can close it too." _Screw my pride and honor!_

"I will get the spoilers right away, Professor!"

"If you bring back lies just because you want to open up a heart, know that you're going to die." Alscepius warned him, but Will was too happy to care. Lee, next to him, had been shocked in silence.

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" He repeated, immediately leaving the room to do what he was asked. Had he stayed behind the door, he would be listening to a very interesting or bizarre conversation between Lee and Alscepius.

_"Professor. I don't think this is fair management."_

_"Why? What?"_

_"Even her seniors haven't been able to open hearts yet."_

_"Oh, really? If you feel wronged, you can get an author for your father as well."_

* * *

_Awesome!_ Will walked the hallways of the hospital, with a perpetual smile on his face. He did have to hide his expression every time someone would pass by him or they would think he was insane. _If I knew the Mad Dog liked comics earlier, my life would have been so much easier. But at least it changed now. Let's see..._ He pulled out his phone and began searching for a number.

_**Dad.**_

He dialed the number, smiling, before hanging up. _No._ Will realized he couldn't just call him like that. _If I happen to just pointlessly bring it up, there's no way ends will ever meet. Right, right._ So, Will tried another number, knowing he won't have any problems with this one.

_**Kayla Knowles.**_

* * *

On the other side of the line, a totally different situation was occurring.

Kayla Knowles, assistant and second in command of Apollo Solace's manhwa was freaking out. She would pace around the house of her mentor like a caged lion. Her fellow artists, siblings Travis and Connor Stoll were patiently seated on their stations.

That changed when the phone rang.

"Hello? Big Bro, Big Bro. Big Bro Will." Kayla greeted Will, totally freaked out.

"Is it Big Bro?" Connor asked, a little pointless as Kayla had mentioned it.

_"Kayla, it's been a long time."_

"Big Bro. Big Bro, the thing is..." Kayla tried to speak but words would come out.

_"You're busy, right? I know today's the deadline so I know you're going to be out of your mind, but I have a favor to ask. My life depends on this. So keep it a secret from my dad."_

"Big Bro, Big Bro, Big Bro!" Finally, Kayla had managed to say something. "Anyway, I was going to call you." He ushered the Stolls back to their stations while she talked to Will. "Something bad happened."

_"Something bad?"_

"Master-" Kayla reverend Apollo and therefore, she would call him Master, and Will knew this. "Master disappeared." She even had to sit down to give the news.

_"Huh?"_

"I mean... I haven't seen him since last night. He can't be contacted." She explained, seriously.

_"What do you mean? He's probably been drinking all night out somewhere."_ Kayla knew Will was trying to reassure her, but not this time.

"It's not that, it's not that. We called his favorite place, but they said he didn't come. His friends don't know where he is either. He even left his phone. His phone." Kayla said, grabbing her Master's phone. She had physical proof she wasn't worried in extreme.

_"He left his phone?"_ Kayla finally heard the worry in Will's voice.

"His wallet, car keys, everything. There's no way to contact him." Kayla was trying- and failing to a certain degree -to become hysterical with worry.

_"Where could he have gone, then?"_

"The deadline is at 4 but the teacher hasn't given us any don't know what's going to happen and he's never missed a deadline. What are we supposed to do?"

* * *

After Kayla's call, Will decided to pay a personal visit to his father and the team. They would work in his old house, a little far from the crowded city, but not that far so things were impossible to reach. After paying the taxi driver that had taken him there, Will walked into the house. It hadn't change that much from his parents' divorce.

"Big Bro!" Kayla startled Will right from the start.

"You scared me!" He accused him, before noticing Travis and Connor on the back.

"Big Bro, you came?" Connor greeted him, smiling softly.

"It's been a long time, you all." Will recognized before getting to business. "What about Dad?"

"He hasn't shown up yet." Kayla informed him, the short cheery moment gone. Will considered his father's behavior weird of him and decided to inspect his room- also the master bedroom of the house, Kayla hot on his tail. The room was full of **W** paraphernalia, from printed manhwas to posters, notes. Messy as he remembered, pictures of him and his father in different stages of life were the only things not related to work. "He hasn't called you, Big Bro?"

"I've been so busy lately that it's been a while since I last contacted him." Will admitted, looking at the room.

"I probably have to tell the editorial department too, right? I haven't said a word to them." Kayla was getting worried again, trying to be responsible, Will stopped her.

"Let's wait a bit. We still have time until the deadline."

"But Big Bro..." Kayla insisted. "The strange thing is that we stayed up all night working and we didn't see him come out of the room even once. We were here all night, but... I went in right at 10 o'clock. And he wasn't there when no one ever saw him leave." She recalled last night, showing her worry. "So we thought, '_maybe he's collapsed somewhere_', and we searched inside and outside the house. But, there wasn't a trace, not a single one! It's weird, it's weird, right?! It's weird!"

"It is weird. It's really weird." Will agreed, not understanding how would his father disappear like that.

"Should we report it to the police?" Kayla covered her mouth, having her fears confirmed. However, Will put a stop to that.

"It hasn't been 24 hours yet. Let's just wait a little while and see. He might have had too much on his mind so he could've gone outside to cool his head! Yeah." Will didn't know who he was reassuring if himself or the terrified Kayla.

"Leaving without saying anything in the middle of the night?" Kayla wasn't buying that reason and showed it. "Without his money or phone?"

"Hey! My dad's a human being!" Will reminded her. Evidently, Apollo could do no wrong in Kayla's mind, but Will knew he was right, his father was human and could have simply forgotten his things. "He was probably upset about having to say goodbye to the main character he drew for 10 years, don't you think?"

"Who? _Master_?" Evidently, Kayla didn't think the same. "What do you mean upset? He always talked about how sick he was and how badly he wanted to kill the guy."

"Kill? Kill who?" Now, Will was getting worried. Especially by Kayla's seriousness of the whole thing.

"Nico di Angelo... He said he was going to kill Nico di Angelo in the last scene."

Will's reaction was to chuckle on that thought.

"Hey, what do you mean he's going to kill Nico di Angelo?" Will repeated, not believing his ears. _If this is his way to not spoil me the end for Mad Dog..._

"I saw..." Evidently, Kayla was having troubles expressing herself because of the many hand gestures she was doing. She seemed to come to an idea to help herself. "Wait a second." She gestured Will to follow her behind his father's desk. "Come here quickly. I really shouldn't be showing you. Don't tell _anyone_, okay!?" _Except for Mad Dog-_ Kayla turned on the screen of the digital drawing broad and Will was greeted with a gruesome view, gasping in surprise.

"What is this?" It was obvious what it was but he needed confirmation that what she was seeing was not that.

"What else? It's Nico di Angelo. See, he died." The view was disturbing. As a doctor, Will could see that by the amount of blood drew there, a normal person in the real world would need a doctor at its side immediately if they wanted to survive. But, even if what he was seeing was the death of a fictional character, he was outraged.

"Why? Why? Why did he kill _my_ Nico di Angelo, why?!"

"I didn't kill him!" Kayla reassured him. "That's what I'm asking! Why's _our_ Nico di Angelo dying!? This doesn't make sense!" Apparently, Kayla couldn't understand her Master's decision, but Will was far from paying attention to that, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"He really died?" _Mad Dog is gonna kill me..._

"Look at that! This is blood! No one can survive after losing that much blood! Big Bro, _you're_ the doctor!" Will was not even listening to her. His eyes darted around the screen, watching how all the blood should be coming from somewhere on his waist. "You don't know how much we opposed him! I've never whispered a word about his work all this time, but this... I was _absolutely_ against it! Travis even cried! But Master was so persistent! He said he'd kill him no matter what. In a gruesome way at that. That _that_ was his life's wish!"

"Why is this...How..." Was all Will could stuttered. His medical experience would go down the toilet when Mad Dog heard about this! _Bye, bye open heart!_

"If this goes on the internet, it will be done. Everybody probably looked forward to it ending with Nico di Angelo finding the culprit and getting sweet revenge. But revenge, my ass. He was brutally killed instead." While Kayla was ranting about how dead everyone would be when the manhwa got updated, Will was scrolling down the not-yet-uploaded episode and noticed a shadow drew there.

"Is this the culprit?" Will pointed at the drawing. "Who is it?"

"I don't know either. He didn't tell me. He drew up to here and then disappeared."

"Maybe he felt conflict when he actually had to draw it. That's why he..." Will tried to link the disappearance with the turn the manhwa was taking.

"No, no, no. That can't be it. You don't know how determined he was. He was definitely... smiling. He was seriously... enjoying it!" Kayla shuddered while remembering that.

"Why? Why would he be happy about killing the main character?" Will couldn't understand it yet. Kayla gave him a straightforward answer.

"How would I know that? How would I know Master's mind?"

"What if... This manhwa has many extreme fans. What if they heard from somewhere that this was the ending and they kidnapped dad because they were pissed?!" That theory was more plausible but yet insane. However, both Will and Kayla already noticed nothing normal fitted the pattern now.

"Like **Misery**-!?"

"Yeah! **Misery**! **Misery** had a deranged fangirl too!" Will pointed out

"I watched **Misery**!" Far from being insulted by that early statement, Kayla actually looked even more terrified. "But if that's true-"

"We can't do this." Will interrupted her, shaking his head. "Let's call the police. I don't feel good about this."

"I'll do it, I'll do it. I'll go report it." Kayla rushed out of the room, calling for the brothers. "Travis! Connor! My phone! My phone, my phone!"

"What if that really happened?" Will wondered his theory, starting to search for clues. He could hear the yelling from outside the room while he looked between the papers on the desk. What caught his eye was the photograph of a painting. Or, what seemed to be a painting.

The painting looked from the Renaissance period and was very weird yet very specific at the same time. It pictured a monster eating and limbering a human. Behind the printed photo, there was a phrase written in what Will could identify as his father's calligraphy.

_**'I'd rather eat... than be eaten.'**_

Will's view turned quickly to the drawing on the screen. Could it be that his father was watching the manhwa as a monster and that it would end up destroying him? Or like a Frankenstein's monster, who would kill its creator? He assumed the meaning behind this wasn't literal as this was a manhwa.

He tried to think another way to contact his father when he felt something around his blazer's pocket. He placed his hand there but could notice nothing out of the ordinary... except some wetness. Will looked at his hand and saw drops of blood, fear filling his brain. Slowly turning around, hoping he wouldn't find someone in the room with him, he was greeted with an even more weird and frightening sight.

A bloody hand was coming out the screen and was holding onto him.

He didn't even manage to scream before the hand pulled him to it, leaving the room empty of people.

Just like it was before.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, folks!_

_I apologize for not posting last weekend, but I didn't feel the chapter I had to post was quite done, so I decided to take a longer time and be happy with it. So, I hope you enjoy it._

_For those of you who doesn't know yet, I posted a new story last Friday- last week's Friday, just to be sure -titled '**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**'. To those who had read it, thank you! For those of you who hasn't and want to, you're welcome to do so! I'm very excited about this merge of PJO-HoO/Korean drama, so I hope you people like it (it's not a crossover, but a merge!)._

_So! Here are today's updates!_

_**Saving Time - A Caleo Story**: 1 chapter!_

_**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**: 1 chapter!_

_I hope you like it and that you enjoy your Sunday!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	3. Episode 1, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 1: Part 2**

* * *

When Will opened his eyes again, he noticed a couple of things. One, it was nightfall. Two, in front of him there was a gigantic satellite dish. And that he was on the roof of some building. He immediately stood up and began to look around. He wasn't just in some roof, he was in a heliport.

"What is this? Where is this? Why am I here?" Will began to ask himself as if he knew the answers to said questions. It wasn't until he heard someone gasping that he noticed he wasn't alone. Searching for the voice that had emitted sound, he did the last thing he expected to do.

He stumbled with it.

In front of him, laying on the floor, was a young man that seemed to be bleeding himself to death. Half his white shirt was covered in blood and below him was a pool of blood even bigger and he seemed to be passed out because of the lost.

No time for fear, medical training actually didn't allow it.

"Hey! Hey, come to your senses! Hey!" He tried to shake him awake. "Can you hear me?" He immediately decided to see what was wrong with him and opened his shirt to find a tank top as bloody as the shirt, but the wound was clearly there: a stabbing wound that couldn't be done less than an hour or so.

Will leaned over the young man to hear his breathing. The breathing was so shallow, Will had to check his pulse, just in case. It was weak, but it was there. He started to search in his pockets, to see what he could use to help him, finding papers and nothing useful. What he did find was the cellphone of the young man. He couldn't simply unlock it so he assumed- correctly -that it unlocked with a fingerprint. However, his fingers were so covered in blood it was impossible to be read.

_Why doesn't it work?_ Will asked himself, almost panicking at the situation. He had never had a situation like this, he was used to the hospital, where everything was in hand's reach. Now, he would have to improvise. "Hey! Hey! Hang in there for a little longer!" He immediately got up and started to search for a way out of the heliport, going down the stairs and to the first available floor.

His path led him to a kitchen, he could hear and see the people dressed in white there.

No time for subtlety.

"Excuse me! Someone, please call 911! A person is dying on the roof!" He explained and everyone stared at him as if he was playing some kind of bad joke. "Don't you hear me? A person got stabbed by a knife and is dying!" Seeing a pair of scissors and a cloth on the table, he rushed for them and, a bit hysterical, took them and scold the people there. "He can't hold on for long since there is a lot of bleeding so tell them to hurry. Quickly!" He rushed back upstairs, ignoring the mess he had left behind.

As soon as he reached the heliport again, he kneeled down and checked his pulse again. Sighing in relief when he found some, he got to work, grabbing the scissors and beginning to cut the cloth he took with him. Was in that situation that one of the waiters that had followed him found him. The guy even fell to the floor because of the surprise!

"What is this? Is he really hurt? Who is he?" The poor guy managed to ask without stuttering.

"I don't know either. Shine some light over here." Will ordered and the guy began searching in his pockets for his phone, using the flashlight function. "What about the ambulance? The ambulance!"

"I called! Also, there's a conference for surgical doctors downstairs! Those people will be coming up." Will was applying the cut-up cloth over the wound when those words were mentioned.

"Conference? What is this place?" He asked, turning to the waiter, who looked at him confused. "What is this building?"

"This is a hotel!" He answered him. "New York Promenade Hotel." _This is a hotel?_ Will stayed only a second with his thoughts before the guy spoke again. "Do you know what you are doing? Let's just wait until a doctor shows up." Will wasn't going to let that one pass.

"I'm also a doctor." _Even though I don't have much talent_, he added to himself but he couldn't freak out the other guy more than he already was. Finally, the bloody guy gasped and moved his head, as if he was waking up from a bad dream, but Will knew it wasn't the case.

He was having trouble breathing.

"What's wrong with him?" The waiter was really freaked out by now and Will was about to lose the little confidence he had in himself. Instinctively, he began moving his fingers around the area of the clavicle and his breathing became more difficult and painful. Will took the scissors and began cutting his tank top and removing it, seeing what it seemed a bruise over his chest.

Hard to say with that much blood.

"I think it's pneumothorax." Will mumbled, a bit unsure.

"What?"

"I-It's pneumothorax, right?" He shook his head to clean it from doubt and decided to get into action. "Right. Right, then I need to pierce it! P-Pierce-I have to pierce it but there's nothing to pierce with!" While looking around, his eyes set on a red pen that the waiter had on his vest and a crazy idea came to his head. _No. It's too dangerous. What do you know?_

It was then when the young man fighting for his life seemed to be drowning.

"Isn't he dying?" The waiter insisted and freaked out even more. No need to be more scared about the situation, Will reached out and grabbed the pen from the waiter's pocket.

"If I make a mistake, he will die faster and I will be blamed for it." He reasoned, already freaked out but uncapped the pen anyway. "I don't know. They just miraculously do it in dramas. I'll just do it." While saying so and trying to boost his own confidence, Will was unscrewing the pen and breaking it while the waiter was already freaking out.

"Are you really a doctor? If you aren't confident, just leave it until somebody comes!" Clearly, he didn't want to see someone dying.

"I'm never confident." Will recognized, almost shouting at him. But the urgency of the situation continued and the young man was dying. "Even with that said, do I just leave him to die?"

Seeing that he had no options and that his inactions would hunt him, Will chose a point on the young man's right chest area and aimed hard, stabbing him with the broken pen he had snatched before. Just as he was trying to save his life, the young man not only opened his eyes when he was stabbed- for the second time, this time with no intentions of ending his life -but leaned his head upwards and grabbed his wrist, locking eyes with him.

The only thing in Will's mind was that the man was breathing normally and was alive, he could see it. The relief was evident in his face, while the young man was looking between confused and relieved as well. Hard to tell when just seconds ago were about to die. That expression, however, lasted a few seconds before he rolled his eyes back in and laid his head back on the floor.

* * *

Will was entering a state of shock. He had saved someone and succeed. The adrenaline was still not leaving his body when more people started to show up on the heliport. Evidently, someone had informed the manager of the hotel, as more and more curious people would show up.

"Please move aside. Please move."

For Will, everything was a blur now. The paramedics had taken their time to arrive, but the young man had been bandaged, which mean that either time was moving slow or fast. The doctors that were downstairs in the conference that the waiter had mentioned took care of the situation and now, he was just a witness on the sidelines

"How is the patient's condition?"

"We handled the pneumothorax and stopped the bleeding so please get him to a hospital as soon as possible!"

"Yes, I understand."

_Mad Dog should've seen me just then._ Now that the adrenaline was gone, Will managed to feel a little proud of what he had done. _Seeing just how cool Will Solace, the one you disregard so much... Then does this mean...I'm actually the type that's stronger on the scene?_ That thought actually made him smile, meaning he wasn't that bad of a doctor after all. _'Natural born doctor'? Thank you!_

"Hello." Will stopped his mental complements to be greeted by a man dressed in a suit. "I am the manager of this hotel, Dionysus." Will got up to greet him, receiving the presentation card he was offering him. "That person would have died if you were even a bit late. If a murder occurred at our hotel... It's truly thanks to you. Thank you so much." Though praising himself moments ago, this was too much for Will.

"Ah, for what. As a doctor, I just did what is obviously my work." He explained, trying to be humble about the whole incident.

"How could a doctor find him just in time? That person is very lucky." _He really is..._ "By the way, when the police come, I think you'll have to testify."

"Yes, well I should." Will's sense of duty came out, nodding.

"What is your name?"

"Oh, me?" He immediately began searching into his pockets to see if he still had it. _Found it!_ "It is a little wrinkled."

"It's okay." The manager assured him, taking the card in his hands.

"I am Will Solace from Fieldston Hospital's cardiothoracic department." He introduced himself.

"Are you staying at this hotel?"

"No."

"Then, how did you get up here?"

"Pardon?" Will repeated, finally the question dawning on his brain. _How did he get up there? The bloody hand... could it be...?_

"Doctor. I'm just wondering why you came up here." _Time to improvise, I guess..._

"Yes. But see, I..."

"Manager!" Will had never been gladder to be interrupted as the waiter from before leaned on the manager to speak to him. "That person is CEO Nico di Angelo." Right now, seemed like the manager had trouble hearing.

"What?"

"That's right. He's CEO Nico di Angelo." The waiter assured the manager. "I couldn't tell earlier because of the blood, but what do we do?" The waiter was freaked out again, but no one was more freaked out than the manager himself.

"What do you mean that's Nico di Angelo?!" He rushed to check it with his own eyes.

"That scared me." Will muttered to himself before hearing the manager scream again.

"Just what do we do about this?" Evidently, whoever this Nico person was, the manager managed to be even more freaked out than before. "Call his secretary immediately. Hurry!" He then proceeded to scream at the unconscious man less than a few inches away. "CEO Nico di Angelo! Come to your senses!"

"What the heck?" Will asked himself. "Why is everyone like that? Who is Nico di Angelo?" It was then when Will did an association of names. "Nico di Angelo is the main character of my dad's manhwa." Sadly, that's where his association ended. "Is he a celebrity?" He remembered the name of someone, but it wasn't quite right. "Among the fashion designers, there is a Nico di Angelo... No that's not right, that's Nico Didonna-" Suddenly, the image of his father's last drawing made an appearance on his mind. It was exactly the same situation he found himself when he appeared on the heliport.

Exactly the same.

"What, that's impossible..."

"Please don't strain yourself to speak!" The voice of the manager began to be loud again. It seemed like he was talking to the so-called Nico di Angelo. "We already contacted the company! I'm so sorry. We should have sent protection!" The manager apologized profoundly. "We tried to protect at the very least but... hurry!"

Will could see the young coming in and out of the unconscious state while the paramedics placed him on the strainer. The way he looked at his surroundings, as he was trying to remember why he was there. When he turned his head angled at his direction, Will could see the question on his eyes, that stare that Will had described as 'sexy' less than ten hours ago.

He kept staring at the entourage of people that followed the paramedics down the heliport, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Though, they weren't alone for long as something. As the people would go down the stairs, Will noticed bright writing appearing out of nowhere.

"What the-?"

'_**To Be Continued**_'

"What the hell?" Will repeated, staring at the words written there, in total confusion.

In less than a second later, he was no longer on the heliport.

In less than a second later, he was back on his father's room.

The first thing that caught his eye when he was making sure that he wasn't dreaming was the drawing of a bloody Nico di Angelo on his father's digital drawing broad's screen. He childishly had to touch the screen to assure himself he wasn't dreaming or something.

"Big Bro, what are you doing?" Will screamed when Kayla approached him, making Kayla scream in return.

"Hey!"

"Why are you so surprised?" Will ignored the question for a more important one.

"What happened to me?"

"What do you mean?" Kayla evidently didn't know what was being asked here.

"I disappeared for a while!" He assured her, terrified.

"You disappeared?" Kayla repeated. "When?"

"No, I was in the room alone. You went out to report to the police." He recalled the situation from before, freaked out and no need someone else freaked out.

"Big Bro, the thing is...I didn't call the police." Kayla admitted. "Your father... is well!" She celebrated, showing her happy side for the first time.

"What?" Will checked, confused.

"He uploaded the ending just now!" Kayla launched into an explanation, happy. "I don't know where he sent it from, but he just did. And Nico di Angelo is alive again. As expected, what you said was right. He was probably feeling conflict before killing the main character and went out for a breath of air. I didn't know that and even called you." She ended up scolding him for not answering the phone. "He really did. Come out."

"What about my dad?" Will wanted to know.

"He didn't call, but I think he will come soon since he made it to the deadline." Kayla's happiness would be contagious if Will wasn't so concern about what happened earlier. "Come out, quickly! Guys! Big Bro!" Kayla called him out the room, happy. "Ah, Big Bro, hurry! Sit here, sit." Kayla made him sit in front of a computer "Look at it."

"Big Bro." Connor got his attention, also expressing his happiness. "Our Nico di Angelo is alive! Cheers!" He had a drink with his brother.

"It's not even the final episode." Travis pointed out, happy. "I guess it's going to be continued for a while. That's such a relief!"

Will tuned out the celebration happening around him and focused on the newly updated episode. The upload, named Chapter 325 The Attack of Doubt, showed a man stabbing Nico di Angelo in the first vignette, immediately jumping to the vignette Will had seen in his father's drawing broad.

Then, it began the weird part.

The following vignette showed the back of the man that was staring at where Nico di Angelo laid injured. It was the back of a blonde man with a blue blazer on. The next vignette showed the blonde man hovering over Nico di Angelo to check on him asking him 'Can you hear me?'.

The next page showed a group of vignettes, all focused around the kitchen and the blonde man from before shouting 'Someone call 911!'

For Will, it was as if a vivid dream was coming true. He had been sure to pronounce those words and he was sure he had done those actions. The manhwa was step by step his 'dream', a dream Will could not call like that anymore.

"No way..."

"He added a new character, a female doctor." Kayla's voice broke his thoughts. "She has the same name as you."

"There's no way..." Will had no words left for he had experienced. There, in the last page and vignette of the upload manhwa, it was him in all his glory. Even with the same clothes, he was wearing at the moment.

"It's me."

* * *

_"CEO Nico di Angelo, who had two surgeries, is currently stable and resting in the hospital."_ The news reporter was explaining, his surroundings giving away the place where he currently was standing. _"The front of the hospital is crowded with people who are worried about him. The police stated that they continue to look for the culprit who stabbed him, but no direct evidence has come out yet."_ Nico di Angelo found himself watching the news with attention as if he would learn something that he didn't know. He was laid down on a hospital bed, his bodyguard and right hand sitting by the near-by couch. _"According to the hotel manager, the witness called himself a doctor but his identity is not revealed yet. The police stated that they will try their hardest to find the witness and capture the culprit-"_

It was then when Nico and his bodyguard Perseus 'Percy' Jackson noticed someone else in the room, forcing Percy to turn off the TV. This person, however, carried a '_non-sense attitude_' dressed up elegantly.

"Did you find him?" Nico asked his secretary and friend of years, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano.

"No." She replied, serious about the whole thing. "We assigned a party to search everywhere but they say they're unsure of his whereabouts. There is nothing on the CCTV as well." She informed him, leaving him surprised.

"There is nothing?" On the background, Percy simply listened in silence, making himself some coffee.

"Yes. That man is kind of strange." Reyna pondered. "He told the manager that he will testify, yet... he disappeared when the police came. And he called himself a doctor in Fieldston Hospital." She added at the end, gaining the attention of her boss.

"Where is Fieldston Hospital?"

"Such a hospital does not exist in the USA." She informed him. "So that means he lied about being a doctor." She went to search into her purse, as she had forgotten something. "Look at this." From inside of it, she pulled out a small presentation card. Nico took it and noticed it was wrinkled and it had blood spots all over it. The card read the words '_Fieldston Hospital_' and '_Will Solace_'.

"Resident of the cardiothoracic department, Will Solace." Nico read out loud as if that would clarify his doubts.

"He must've forged business cards to get around." It was evidently from Reyna's voice that she didn't like this man she was tasked with finding. "The phone number and the email were all fake. The police suspect him as an accomplice."

"I don't think that's true." Nico said, completely sure of it. Every extra eye on the room turned to his direction. "That's not it." He assured them.

"How do you know?" Reyna clearly wanted an explanation. "You said you don't remember anything."

"My intuition?" As excuses go, that was the lamest Nico could have given. Reyna looked at him as if she couldn't believe it. Nico however, smirked. "Anyway, I have to find him. I think that he has the key to my life."

Now, that was a bomb drop.

The situation could even be tagged as hilarious. Percy went still in his seat, not sure what he had heard. His coffee cup was halfway to his mouth before he shared a look of shock with Reyna, who was in the same state as he was. However, both of them had to voice out the question they could have misinterpreted.

"The key to your life?" Reyna repeated. A single nod from Nico made her scoff at the notion and made her discontent known. "That is a very grandiose statement. It's a bit cheesy." But Nico wasn't in the mood of being dissuaded.

"Find him."

"The police are making his montage right now." Reyna told him, obviously upset by the turn of the conversation. "According to the paramedics, he is quite a beauty." She even glanced at her boss and friend to see what would be his reaction.

"He is not a beauty." Nico argued.

"They said he is." Reyna insisted.

"If he is a beauty, then anyone can be one." Nico refuted, serious.

"But he is the key to your life?" She double checked.

"Ah. You think I said that because he's handsome?" It was obvious Nico enjoyed teasing Reyna a little bit. And now, that he was bedridden, he wouldn't miss the opportunity.

"I thought you fell for him at first sight."

"Who do you think I am?" Nico gasped in mocking indignation.

"The rarest of playboys." Reyna admitted, smirking. Nico looked at her as if she had insulted him.

"Have you seen a secretary who talks like this to the CEO?" He wondered to Percy, continuing the mocking indignation. "Big Bro, have you seen one?" Ever the wise one- and the eldest of the three -Percy had kept quiet during the conversation and was enjoying his coffee.

"No." Percy smirked his reply, leaving Nico nodding in agreement, mockingly serious.

"Then how can a man you saw for the first time be the key to your life?" Reyna pushed the subject on, not understanding.

"The reason for my existence." Nico decided to be serious for a second and reply with honesty. "I think he is the person who will tell me the reason for my existence. Are you satisfied?"

Evidently, Reyna wasn't.

"This is absurd." She placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "I can tell you the reason for your existence. It's simple. With your parents' love, the sperm and the egg met-" She started to gesture with her hands, only to be interrupted by Nico.

"They can't make his montage handsome. Then they will never find that man." He pointed at her with the presentation card still in his hand. "And I told you that you can only talk informally when it's just us two." He scolded her lightly.

"Yes." Reyna replied, prompting a chuckle from Percy. "I got it. I will tell exactly that to the police." And then, she decided to twist the knife a little bit. "The man who will be the key to your life is not a beauty." Nico nodded and watched her leave the hospital room.

"It seems like she is mad at me again." Nico sighed.

"The expression '_key to my life_' is quite strong." Percy agreed, watching the spot from where Reyna disappeared. He then turned to Nico. "He must be really handsome."

"She is not." Nico snorted at him, making that Percy snorted back at him, not believing a word coming from his mouth. Or at least, in that topic. "Seriously." He assured him, before looking again at the presentation card and repeating the name written there. "Will Solace... Where are you right now?"

* * *

In another world, in the same universe, the aforementioned Will Solace was trying to pick up his mouth from the floor when he read those exact same words written in the manhwa's update. He had troubles to even believe what he was seeing, ignoring the rest of the world.

However, the rest of the world wasn't ignoring him.

"Where is he?" Was heard from outside, but Will couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Seconds later, Professor Alsepius barged into the rest area, pointing at him. Not like Will noticed, mind you. "Will Sol- There he is." He even walked to his side and tried to keep his own anger on check, which would be very funny for a third party watching. "I get that your father loves you. I understand him, but how can he name a character Will Solace, so blatantly? How can readers like me read it?" He pointed at the update Will was so mesmerized staring at. "Did you see it? Look at it." Alscepius pressed on when Will kept silence. He broke his thoughts by pushing him aside and using the mouse Will was using moments ago to scroll up the manhwa until a specific point. "Did you look at it? _Cardiothoracic department of Fieldston Hospital_? How can he so blatantly put his son?" Alscepius began his rant again, even laughing nervously.

Will wasn't even paying attention. His eyes were darting around as if he was trying to recall something and he didn't like what he was recalling.

"How can I get into the story if a quack like you save Nico di Angelo?" Alscepius accused him, blatantly. "And what? Will Solace is a beauty? I'm about to go crazy." Far from feeling insulted, Will became more conscious at the moment. "At that moment, I realized that there is a violent side of me. There are even moments when I want to not only save people but also kill people."

"P-P-Professor..." Will stuttered, feeling a headache coming up. "Let's talk later. Right now, I can't talk about this." He tried to excuse himself but Alscespius was having none of that.

"You told your father to put your name in the story, right?" He continued, really showing his angry side. However, if Will had been paying attention, he would have noticed the anger display was similar to a childish tantrum. "You didn't get a spoiler that I asked for, but ruined a masterpiece by putting Will Solace-"

"Professor, can you leave for now?" Will interrupted him, getting up from his seat. "I don't think it's the right time for me to listen to you. For now, can you leave?" He asked and, not emphasized his point, he began to gently guide him out.

"Are you crazy?"

"Professor." Will insisted.

"Did you just touch me? Are you pushing me?"

"Just go outside for now!" Will did push him this time, getting him out the resting area and locking the doors. Will felt like he was going crazy. He couldn't even think straight. And, obviously, the attempts of Alscepius to get inside were not helping either. "What is happening? What is happening? Will Solace, think about this." He muttered to himself. "Get your head on straight!"

One thing to do in a situation like this.

"Yes, Big Bro?"

"Kayla, you saw, right?" So far, Will wanted to know he wasn't crazy and had seen the same. "Nico di Angelo is looking for me. I can't believe it. He's looking for me."

"Yes, that's right. He's looking for you."

"He's looking for me with my name card!" Will insisted, freaking out. "That's my name card! The one that I actually gave the hotel manager! It says _Fieldston Hospital Will Solace_! Look at it!"

"Yes. It says _Fieldston Hospital Will Solace_. The story is going in a weird direction." Kayla admitted to him, obviously confused. "Out of the blue, he is focusing too much on the new character. But your father is missing. Where is he drawing this?"

"My dad didn't draw this." Will explained to him.

"Then who drew it?" Kayla had his undivided attention.

"It just suddenly appeared, as Nico di Angelo came back alive." Will heard Kayla sighing deep as if they had gone over this before. "When Nico di Angelo, who was supposed to die, came back alive, the story began making itself."

"Big Bro. What are you saying, seriously?"

"Do you not get what I'm saying? Yes, I don't know what I'm saying, even when I'm saying it. It seems like I'm crazy." Will recognized. "Nico di Angelo is alive. He is alive and looking for me!" Then, a crazy yet logical explanation came to Will and he just had to share it. "There is another world of **W**. The real world that Nico di Angelo lives in!"

"Big Bro, please calm down. I don't understand what you are saying-"

"I saw it!" Obviously, Kayla wasn't going to help, so Will hung up. "Seriously!" He was even scared to look at the screen, but there was one thing Will wanted to know.

Why was Nico di Angelo looking for him?

What was he going to do to him?

And, most importantly... why was he the key to his life?

* * *

_**Character Profile:**_

_Nico di Angelo, the main character. He was born in New York in 1987. His physical appearance shows us he's a tall and thin young man, around the 6'1", placing him over the average height for men. His hair dark, turning pitch black around the edges. He has it short on the back but long enough on the front to not cover his eyes and allow him to comb it differently. His eyes dark brown, but look more as if they were black._

_Currently, he's the co-CEO of JN Global, a business involved with electronic commerce. The market value of JN Global: $1.5 billion. With personal assets of approximately $700 million, that makes him a super millionaire._

_The story began when young Nico won a gold medal at the Olympics twelve years ago. He, who not only had skill and disposition but also a cute face, emerged as a national star. He fell to the bottom after his family was murdered mysteriously. He was arrested as the murder suspect. The problem was that there was no other suspect besides Nico._

_In the first trial, Nico was sentenced to capital punishment. And though he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the second trial, the Supreme Court cited the inadmissibility of evidence as a reason to acquit him. But even if he managed to escape capital punishment, his hard days weren't over yet._

_The Nico di Angelo who came back from a year in prison, could not accept the fact that he no longer has a family waiting for him anymore. The hostile stares from those who still suspected that he was the culprit pained him as well. People would point at him, calling him a disgrace and a shame. It was too much sometimes._

_After a year of living as if he were dead, he decides to die._

_During his brief life, he never thought that his life would end like this. Nico di Angelo was angry and felt that his life had been in vain._

_In the last moment, while slightly falling off the edge of the security rail of the bridge, facing the creek, he suddenly thought of one phrase: come-from-behind-victory._

_The last minute decision saw Nico di Angelo holding tight from the rail, deciding to keep fighting over dying. Until he found the true culprit, Nico di Angelo wouldn't be able to take back his life. So he will find the culprit. Before he dies, he will, no matter what._

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, my fellow readers/writers!_

_Last weekend of May, can you believe it? I can't, is still a little annoying for me that days go by so fast, but yet here we are! I hope you're enjoying your year so far... and if you're about to enter you summer holidays, even more so! Me myself I'm entering winter and while no White Walkers are threatening to attack, I'd rather stay inside, hehe..._

_Anyway, today we have lots of updates! Read carefully the list!_

_**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**: 1 chapter! I hope you're enjoying this story, I really like it and if I see good response, I might consider adapt other K-Dramas... we'll see..._

_**Saving Time - A Caleo Story**: 1 chapter! The gang is complete, so now it's 'saving the world' time!_

_**Garden Wall** (collab with my friend **ReeReeWithAngst**): 1 chapter! After a while in hiatus, we're back! Hope you like it!_

_**PJO/HoO Requests**: 1 chapter! My friend **ObeliskX** requested a genderbent!Caleo and I hope you guys like it! Remember, you can request by PM!_

_As you can see, this week was super hectic! Enjoy!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	4. Episode 2, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 2: Part 1**

* * *

There was actually little that could distract Will at the moment.

He didn't care about the weather, so rainy outside. He didn't care that her aunt had come to visit him and his mother, Naomi. He didn't even care that his own mother was growing concern about him and that he was being called for dinner without any response.

No, nothing of that fazed Will at the moment.

His only concern was directly linked with the chain of events that had happened last night at his old home- now turned manhwa's workshop of his father. If Naomi had walked inside the room at that moment, he would see Will in bed, staring at nothing while his covers were surrounded by her ex-husband's work.

Suddenly, Will got a thought. A thought that some twisted way made a lot of sense. With some panic, he got up and immediately got his phone, dialing someone. The other person answered after a few rings.

_"Hello?"_

"Kayla! What I'm thinking is–"

_"What are you thinking about so much? Stop thinking now."_ Kayla interrupted him, sounding somewhat happy.

"My dad didn't just run away from home." Will insisted. "He was kidnapped!"

_"By whom?"_ If Will had been paying attention, he would have realized that the tone Kayla was using was similar to the ones used to children when adults are trying to play along.

"Dad got dragged into the manhwas that night while drawing as I did!" Will continued, without actually paying attention. Later on, he would realize he just needed someone to let everything out and his mother was not an option. "So Dad is still locked up there! I don't know who kidnapped him, but that's why there's no contact from him. So no matter how long we wait, Dad will–"

_"Geez. Big Bro, can you please just..."_ Kayla butted in again, sounding a little exasperated. _"Stop it. To say that Master went inside the manhwas. Why are you saying such nonsense right now?"_ She wanted to know.

"You said you didn't understand either, how Dad went outside the room." Will was on the edge of madness and paranoia. It was exasperating for the young doctor!

_"But still, to say that the conclusion is that he went inside the manhwas... What type of nonsense is that?"_ Kayla reasoned with him. _"We drew those panels, each background __pixel, one by one. I did them all."_ She offered him some proof, only to drive Will even more insane. _"It's a drawing, a drawing. Saying something's inside the drawing, what are you saying is in the drawing? And it's true that Master drew that manhwa!"_ Now, the one losing her patience was Kayla. _"Do you think I wouldn't even recognize his handwriting? Even if we draw the background, only Master can draw the characters! There is an ace-like difference! Ace-like!"_ She ranted, outraged. _"**And I know Master better than you!**"_ She finished, screaming that part. After a few seconds of composing herself, she began again. "Big Bro Will, are you listening?"

"Galileo." Will replied, sighing too. "I understand Galileo's heart."

_"Galil— Come again?"_

"He still said that the Earth moves." He said as an explanation. "Everyone thought he was insane-"

_"Master...?"_ Will gasped when hearing Kayla calling his father. A few seconds later- and because Kayla had forgotten to hang up, he heard Travis and Connor address him too. That was enough for him. He hung up and finished dressing.

He had to see his father.

"Where are you going?" Naomi questioned Will as soon as he was out of his room.

"I'm going out." Will excused himself, grabbing his umbrella and coat.

"I said eat before you leave. You said you only have to get there by 7." Naomi tried to stop him, but Will was with a foot out the door already.

"I'm late, I'm late. Emergency call. I'll be going." He repeated, waving at his aunt goodbye. "Aunt, eat well and be careful on your way back!" He disappeared from his mother's apartment without even listening to her.

_"Will! Hey, Will!"_

* * *

"Big Bro, you came?" Will got greeted by Connor as soon as he crossed the front door, rain and manners are damned. He had urgent business to do.

"What about Dad?"

"He's in his room." He informed him, pointing at the room's door.

"Big Bro, Big Bro. Big Bro!" Kayla whispered for his attention. "What did I tell you? Now stop having those delusions." However, Will was not convinced yet.

"Where did he say he was all this time?" A shrug from Kayla's shoulders was all he got. Apparently, his father had been quiet about the whole thing.

"But he seems skinnier." Connor added, making Will suspicious. Knocking on the door before entering, he was greeted by the view of his father behind his desk, frowning and arms crossed. "Dad. Dad?" Apollo Solace wasn't getting any younger and the grey hairs mixed in his blonde short one, along with his wrinkles, made sure everyone noticed, even him. The glasses over his eyes made his expression even more contemplative, ignoring his son's calls. At least, the first times. "I'm here."

"Oh, you're here?" Apollo acknowledged, his expression changing as soon as he saw Will.

"What happened? I was worried." Will asked him, showing his worry. "Where did you go? Why did you cut off contact?"

"Uh, I went somewhere and came back." Apollo's vague excuse made Will want to know more.

"Where?"

"Here and there?" It was as if Apollo couldn't give a straight answer. _Did he go drinking and I've worried over nothing...?_ "And you? Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere?" He asked back, showing a little concern.

"I'm not... hurt anywhere." Will admitted though the question was weird. "Why do you ask...?"

"It's fine." Apollo interrupted him, sighing in relief. "As long as nothing's wrong, it's fine." Will was not convinced but wanted to try something.

"But, Dad... About **W**..."

"Oh, I heard from Kayla. I heard you're telling her strange things." He quickly cut her, sounding unconcerned. He actually began to search something inside his desk's drawers. "I needed a new character and I couldn't really think of anything so I just made one just like you because that's easy." He finally looked at his son. "Is there something weird with that?"

"Is it really something you drew?" Will insisted. "The last two chapters. Are they really things you drew?" Apollo's expression was unreadable, breaking in a small smirk.

"Then... Who would?" He said, as no one could do the same.

"No, it's just that-" Will tried to cover up. "Truthfully-"

"If it wasn't me, who would've drawn it then?" The questioned sounded more like an accusation and a pushover Will's fragile paranoia. "What are you trying to say?" Seeing as he would get nothing more than a defensive answer, Will decided to stop it.

"It's nothing." He muttered. "It's nothing." Even Apollo looked relieved by the matter being dropped and continued the conversation to safer ground.

"Shouldn't you be at the hospital? Why did you come? You should go." It was obvious that Will was being dismissed as if he wasn't his son. Then again, Apollo was very weird when expressing his emotions.

"Alright." He nodded, defeated.

"I have to hurry up and work." Apollo explained, placing on his drawing glove.

"You should rest though." Will was having none of that and said so.

"It's so toilsome." Apollo continued. "It's so cloying that I'd rather hurry up with it and rest. Let's talk next time with our eased hearts ok?" That was the final dismissed and Will nodded again.

"Alright."

"Your mom's doing well?"

"She's the same."

"Give her my greetings. I won't be seeing you out."

"Okay." Walking towards the door, Will tried one more time to ease the tension their previous conversation had created. "Stay strong, Dad. My professor is a fan of yours." That did bring a small smile from his father. _Mission accomplished._ "I'm leaving." He walked out the door, ignoring the worried look that his father was sending his way.

"Big Bro, we're going to eat. Leave after eating with us." Travis called his attention as soon as he was out of the room, friendly. However, Will declined.

"I have to go to the hospital." He immediately turned to Kayla. "Kayla! Did he really not say anything about where he was?"

"He didn't." She confirmed. _There's something wrong here..._

"Not even about how he was able to leave from his room with making a single sound?" Kayla shook her head, serious before sighing to the perplexed Will.

"Because he said he was going to start working, I think we'll also have to work into the night." Nodding again, Will took it as his cue to leave.

"Keep up the good work!" He encouraged them, waving around. "I'm leaving!"

_"Bye, Big Bro!"_

_"Come back again!"_

_"Be careful since it's raining. Be sure to open your umbrella!"_ Kayla advised him before he left the house for the hospital.

* * *

**Fieldston University Hospital Medical Center**

Nightfall had fallen and Will's attention was nowhere near his shift at the hospital. He was sitting by his desk with his eyes focused on nothing and oblivious of what was happening around him. Even when his colleagues were talking to him about nonsenses, he had not been even listening.

So, when Lee touched his shoulder, it was natural that he jumped in surprise.

"Hey. Go and come back." Lee ordered him.

"Where?" Will asked, looking at him as if he was insane. However, Lee returned the look back, serious.

"Why are you like this these days?"

"You scared me. What... what, did I get called out?" Will began to worry and sat straighter on his chair. Still, with his serious face, Lee replied to him.

"We played rock paper scissors to see who would go to **Bonjour**, and you didn't play."

That's how Will found himself out of the hospital and in the cafe across the street.

While waiting for his order, Will couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the previous night not the strange behavior his father was displaying. Trying to ease her fears, she grabbed her phone and send a text.

_'Kayla, are you busy?'_

The reply came immediately

_'Not really.'_

Knowing he would hate himself if he had called when they were working, Will phoned Kayla directly and waited for her to answer.

_"Yes, Big Bro?"_

"Is my dad still working?"

_"Yes."_

"What's the storyline this time?"

_"I think he's going to kill Nico di Angelo again."_ Will heard the hesitation coming from Kayla's voice. It was something she didn't want either.

"What?!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in another world in the same universe, at the same time that Kayla describes the next scene to a very shocked Will, a common nurse received a call that would change her life forever.

* * *

_"He's still continuing to draw."_ Kayla began her explanation, slightly monotonous. _"It involves ordering the nurse in charge to administer the poison."_

"I mean, who?" It was evident that Will was wondering about the one giving the order and Kayla understood immediately.

_"I'm not sure."_ She admitted. _"The person ordered it over the phone..."_

"How?" Now, Will wanted to know how the main character was about to die.

_"Instead of antibiotics, he's planning on administering potassium."_

"Potassium?" Will repeated, thinking a little bit before his eyes practically bulging out his face in realization. "You means his heart is going to stop when it is administered as an intravenous shot (IV)?" He wanted nothing being misinterpreted here.

_"Yes."_ Kayla confirmed to him. _"After I researched a little, that way seemed like the most simple way."_ Evidently, Kayla was not on board for this.

Had either Kayla or Will been in the room with Apollo, they would have recognized the look on his face as someone who was about to commit a craziness, almost a murder. However, Kayla was forbidden the entry and Will was miles away from the location.

After getting his order and out of the cafe, Will tried that his ideas were washed away with the current rain.

_I should stop caring. Dad came home safely anyways._ He nodded at that thought. Yes, Apollo was safe at home and not missing like last night. "It's a manhwa. Just a manhwa." He repeated out loud for himself. "Whether he lives or dies, he is the main character of a manhwa." However, he was not totally convinced. He couldn't stop thinking about how he had saved his life, how real the fear, the adrenaline, and the blood had been. He even looked at his hand to find searches of blood. _Oh, this is gonna be the death of me..._ He grabbed his phone and made one more call.

_"Hello?"_

"Dad? Are you working?" He tried to sound cheerful about it.

_"Yes. What's the matter?"_ The get-to-the-point comeback left room for no misunderstandings.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, but are you planning to kill Nico di Angelo?" Will apologized before getting to what was really bothering him. "Why? Why do you need to kill him?"

_"Are you now involving yourself in my work too now?"_ He accused him, hearing the exasperation. Will was left but nothing else than to bluff a little.

"It's because I feel so empty." Will sighed deeply. "Why must he die when he hasn't even done anything bad? It's unfair! He even promised himself that he would catch the culprit! Why must the main character die when he was solely focused on finding the culprit and getting revenge for 10 years?" He was on a rant now, a rant that Apollo found somehow amusing.

_"Is there a law that says the main character can only die after getting revenge? This is based on what I want to do."_

"However, this isn't right, Dad!" Will argued back. "If you were going to do this, then there's no point in saving him. Don't you know how you saved him?" Will was just repeating what his father had told him: that he needed a character and had chosen him. "If you kill him now within just two chapters, how dumbfounded would the audience be?"

_"So why did you do something so useless!" What?!_

"Dad? What are you saying?" Will checked, hoping he had heard wrong. "You just said I did a useless thing?"

_"Never mind."_ It seemed like Apollo was backtracking on his statement, realizing what he had said.

"The useless thing you're talking about is that I saved Nico di Angelo, right?" Will insisted to confirm.

_"What are you saying?"_ Apollo's fury was there to hear.

"You know this too, right?" It was starting to make sense and no sense to Will. At least, he wasn't crazy. "You knew that I saved Nico di Angelo, right? You didn't draw me saving him, right?"

_"Are you in your right mind?"_ Apollo went back to treat him as crazy, but Will was past caring now.

"If not, then please explain!" He demanded. "How... how did you draw the outfit I wore that day, from head to toe, accurately? That was the first time I wore those clothes!" It was obvious by the silence on the other end that Apollo had run out of excuses and Will got to the crazy and cruel truth. "You saw too, right? You saw the living Nico di Angelo." His continued silent gave Will the confirmation needed. "I saw him. His blood was hot, and his heart was racing. The look in his eyes is still fresh in my memory. Nico di Angelo was definitely alive. But how? How could he be alive? This doesn't make any sense! How is he alive?"

_"That's why- that's why I need to end his life right this instant."_

"No! You can't do that! It's murder!" Will screamed over the phone. He never wondered why people didn't look at him weirdly on the street. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed there was no one on the streets.

_"What did you say? _Murder_?"_ _Did I treat Nico di Angelo as a living person...?_

"No..I mean..." He stuttered before giving an answer. He should have been paying attention to his surroundings. He would have seen things changing settings. "I don't know what's happening, but he's alive! Killing him when he's living, that's- that's murder, Dad!" When Will didn't receive an answer he got worried. "Dad, please talk with me. I'll go there. Hello? Hello-? What's wrong with this?" He decided to grab his things and head to the hospital to continue the call.

It was then when Will paid attention.

It was still nightfall but the rain had stopped and the streets were dry as if the 'seems-like-the-sky-is-falling' rain had never happened. Still wondering what had happened, Will knew where he was exactly after hearing what seemed a news report.

_"In the present, where 10 days have passed since CEO Nico di Angelo was attacked, the police haven't been able to find any significant clues and are stuck in a stormy investigation."_ Turning around, Will saw that the cafe behind him had disappeared and was replaced by an electronic store, the same store that had flat TV screen next to the window and showing the news. _"The police is looking for a male doctor who is the only purported witness to the incident."_ Will was gaping at the information but the shock of his life when they mentioned him. He even pointed at himself in disbelief! _"The person is a male doctor in his mid-late 20s to early 30s. Nothing else has been discovered at this time. On the one hand, at Highland General Hospital CEO di Angelo successfully underwent surgery and is receiving inpatient post-op care. It's reported he's recovering fast."_

"Nico di Angelo?"

No time to think.

Time to rush.

* * *

Back at Apollo's workshop, and ignorant of what had happened between father and son, his apprentices were getting ready for another night of work.

"Big Sis! For the scene with Highland General Hospital, we can just use the photo of Fieldston University Medical Center right?" Connor checked, tired of drawing another building. Kayla was immersed in her work and decided to nod.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Was Connor's only reply before erasing the name of the hospital and replacing it with another one. A simple and elegant solution.

* * *

At the same time, Will had reached the street and was calling for a cab. He immediately got in and spoke to the driver.

"You know that place called Highland General Hospital? Please take me there." He asked, only to be looked as if he was crazy by the driver.

"Excuse me?"

"How long does it take? Is it far from here?" Will wondered, not sure if he had time.

"What are you talking about?" The driver checked with him before pointing to his left. "_That's_ Highland General Hospital!"

"No, this is Fieldston Hospital..." Will began to argue until he saw the hospital himself through the cab's window. Indeed, there with bright neon letters, on the top floor, was written **Highland General Hospital**. Without words, Will got out of the cab and walked to the entrance of the hospital, reaching the realization. "This is my hospital. How can they look so exactly alike?"

No time for questions.

He had to rush now.

* * *

Inside the hospital, a different situation was occurring.

The nurse in charge had begun her rounds and was checking on patients and their treatments. Not like anyone noticed, but his demeanor changed a little bit when he walked into a door in the post-op care wing that was actually guarded by bodyguards outside. Always gentlemen, the men recognized the nurse and allowed her inside, opening the door for her and her trolley.

Inside the room, there were only Nico di Angelo, who was trying to sleep, and his bodyguard, Percy Jackson who was reading and was the first one acknowledging the nurse's entrance.

"I'm going to give you some antibiotics." She justified her intrusion. Neither of the men inside argued that Nico actually focusing on other matters.

"What about Secretary Ramirez-Arellano?" He wondered to his bodyguard.

"She is talking to people from the company downstairs." He replied, neither of the men knowing what was about to happen.

* * *

Downstairs, at the same time, Will was rushing to the main desk of the hospital for information.

"Excuse me. CEO Nico di Angelo is hospitalized here, right? What room is he in?" He asked, trying to get his breath back. _I need to do more exercise..._

"Sorry, but I can't tell you for security reasons." The receptionist told him, eyeing his white coat with the logo of another hospital.

"It's an emergency." Will insisted, but the receptionist was less than friendly in even answering. Left with no choice, Will began looking around the lobby of the hospital and he remembered something. _That's right. The structure of this hospital is the same as ours._ He began to run through the floors until he found the one he was looking for.

Covering his coat's logo with a folder, he followed a group of doctors into the authorized area, parting from them when he needed. Will was oblivious to the fact that the nurse's hesitation to carry on the task was what was allowing him to reach Nico di Angelo's room.

* * *

Back in his workshop, a satisfied Apollo was finishing the scene where the nurse injected the potassium inside Nico's body. However, that soon turned into shock and fear when a vignette started to appear without him doing anything!

* * *

"Move aside! Please move aside!" The inhabitants inside Nico di Angelo's private room could hear the struggle outside the door and how a male doctor barged inside, despite trying to be stopped by the door's guards.

"You can't go in there."

Both Nico and Percy were completely surprised by this turn of events, especially when the doctor locked eyes with the nurse, shoving her to the side and taking out the IV from Nico's arm. Unlike Percy, Nico was reacting very calm at this.

"Are you alright?" Was the first thing he said to him, rushing everyone else into action.

"What's going on?" Percy demanded, hands on his hips.

"Are you alright?" The doctor insisted, prompting an answer from Nico.

"What are you talking about?"

"This isn't antibiotics, but potassium, which causes your heart to stop." The seriousness and the urgency on the doctor's voice were enough for Nico to glance at the nurse, who in her nervousness, began running away from the room, with three male trained bodyguards after her. However, Percy made a detour to the nurse's post

"What's wrong?" The nurse behind the desk asked.

"What's the name of the nurse? Call the security team and close all the entrance." He ordered and the poor nurse was compiled to obey.

* * *

"When did she give you the shot?" Nico heard the doctor asked him while picking the dropped syringe from the floor.

"Right before you came in."

"It's ok then." The doctor nodded, relief crossing his blue eyes. "Trace amounts won't matter."

"But how did you know?" Nico wanted to know, serious.

"What?" The doctor apparently was caught by surprise with the question, but Nico's intense stare prompted him to reply. "Ah, I was passing by and coincidentally... The nurse seemed suspicious." Nico kept his expressionless face, making him uncomfortable. The doctor was saved by the arrival of another doctor and a nurse, accompanied by Percy.

"What happened? Nurse Jung switched the medicine?" He inquired, rushing in.

"I think it's potassium. And since the doctor is here, I'll be going now." He informed before tried to make a hasty retreat. That was useless the second Nico grabbed his arm.

"Will Solace." His shocked expression said it all. "Right? You are Will Solace?"

"I'm not." He denied it, making Nico smirk and pointing at his coat with his head.

"Right there it says that you are Will Solace." Evidently, so-called Will Solace had forgotten about it cause he had to look at where he was pointing at. Right there, in stylized letters, was his name.

"Will Solace? The one from that time?" Percy repeated, totally confused about this. Nico, however, smirked at his savior.

"We finally meet, Will Solace."

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, my fellow readers!_

_This week had been soooooooo busy and long! I was wondering when it would be over but now I need more weekend days, which I won't get but anyway... I'm alright, if a little excited as this week is my birthday. Obviously and because it's bad luck, you can't say anything! But I'll remind you next weekend, hehe!_

_So! This week's update!_

_**Saving Time - A Caleo Story**: 1 chapter! If the eagle-eyed fans can spot something, please let me know *wink wink*_

_**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**: 1 chapter! Thanks for the support of this story, brings me lots of joy!_

_**Garden Wall** (collab with my friend **ReeReeWithAngst**): 1 chapter! Hope you enjoy this story and we may be in hiatus again as **ReeReeWithAngst** just got hired and the attention will be on the job now! Congrats, my friend! So happy for you!_

_I hope you enjoy this weekend and I'll see you next!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	5. Episode 2, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 2: Part 2**

* * *

Everything had reduced now to a battle of wills.

Nico di Angelo watched from his hospital bed how an impatient and rather nervous Will Solace would shake his knees up and down and looking around as if he was waiting for something. He would occasionally glance at where Nico's friend and bodyguard, Percy Jackson was standing. Though Percy looked more confused and concerned than anything.

"Do you work in this hospital?" Nico broke the silence.

"No." Came the immediate answer from Will, however, he seemed to backtrack. "Ah, yes."

"But your presentation card says Fieldston Hospital." Nico argued back, smirking.

"Ah, that..." Will acknowledged as if he had been caught in a lie. "I used to work here, but not now. Right now, I work in Fieldston Hospital-"

"Such hospital does not exist." Nico interrupted him, slightly serious.

"Pardon?" Will asked as if not understanding. A small stare down obliged Will to say more. "It doesn't exist now. It closed."

"Closed?" Nico repeated, curious.

"Yes, because the hospital wasn't doing well." Will added quickly. "So right now, I am jobless." He released a small chuckle at the end while Nico shared a look with Percy.

"But how did you come here when you don't work in this hospital?" Nico wondered, his smirk back in place. It was obvious to anyone who knew him that he was being annoyed in purpose.

"What?"

"Why in this particular hospital room?"

"Uh..." Will looked caught but his eyes actually lighted up as if he remembered something. "You looked for me. I saw in the news that you are looking for the witness."

"You just told me that you came coincidentally."

"I saw the nurse who was passing by coincidentally. She looked so suspicious." He tried to explain before adding. "I didn't come to the hospital coincidentally. I came here originally to see you." Unknown to Nico, that was actually Will saying the truth. "Yes." He finished, nodding. Nico was back in smirking mode when the door burst open and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano crossed it.

"What happened?" She demanded, not even two steps into the room. Nor paying attention to who was in the room as well! "I just heard. What about the nurse? Are you okay?" She kept asking, the worry shown in her face. It was then when Reyna noticed who else was in the room, watching how Will's eyes passed from her to Percy, in a mix of awe and surprise.

"Is this person Will Solace?" Her question was directed to the young man in a white coat, though it seemed like she was asking around.

However, Will remembered his manners and got up from his chair to greet her.

"Yeah."

"How are we meeting like this?" Reyna, from Nico's point of view, seemed like she was trying to be polite. "All this time, I was looking for you. Oh, my manners! Hello, I'm the CEO's secretary Reyna Ramirez-Arellano." She formally introduced herself.

"Hello." Will smiled softly at her.

"You didn't contact us the whole time... You were at this hospital?" Reyna said, her curiosity getting the best of her. "I couldn't find a Fieldston Hospital."

"I just heard her explanation about that." Nico interrupted whatever Will was about to say.

"Oh, really?" Reyna replied to her boss, earning a simple nod from him. However, there was something that Reyna was not gonna let past. "But he is a beauty." Even Will sounded surprised by that statement. But Nico could detect slight jealousy attached to it. "He is a beauty. We drew the montage incorrectly because of someone." She decided to lay the blame on her boss.

It was Nico's time to feel trapped.

"Yes, he is a beauty. What did I say?" He agreed quickly, though sounded more secure than Will when he was talking.

"You don't have to say anything you don't mean." Will tried to wave away the importance of this. "You said that if I'm a beauty, anyone else can be." Immediately, Nico saw at Will, who had gone still. Everyone in the room was looking at each other, between confusion and curiosity.

"You are talking to the CEO, right?" Reyna checked, not understanding. "How did you-"

"Ah, that." Will interrupted her, realizing everyone's eyes were on him. "I'm sorry, but I wish to talk to the CEO alone."

"What?"

"With me?" Nico confirmed once everyone had recovered from the surprise._ Will they never end today...?_

"Yes, I have something to say just between us." Will insisted. Nico noticed how Will's eyes and eyebrows were directly focused on him and seemed like he was trying to convey a message. Had the situation been looked by an outside, Will's insistent gestures would have incited laugher around.

"You two get out." Nico finally ordered, smirking.

"CEO, that's a bit..."Evidently, Reyna didn't trust the young man who 'claimed' to save her boss' life. Twice. "We don't know his identity yet." She whispered at him, doing a terrible job. Nico looked at Will while replying.

"What do you mean? He is my life savior." Nico reminded her. It was as the words were said to annoy Reyna. "What other identity is there?"

"The police will be here soon, so you two can talk then." Reyna informed him, resigned at the idea. "Call me when you guys are done talking. I'll be outside." Nico watched the pair of them leave the room, smirking before turning to Will.

"What do you have to say to me?" He got things back on track, politely.

"You said that I'm your life savior." Will repeated, sitting back on his chair.

"That's right." Nico acknowledged, smiling.

"Then you can help me, right?" Will wondered to him.

"Of course. I will compensate you." Nico thought if he had looked out for him because of money. Though, he didn't mind that much.

"I don't need compensation." Will denied, waving his hands. "Can you just let me leave here quietly?" _Surprises are not done today..._ "I can't be interrogated by the police. I can't testify either."

"Why?" Now, Nico was seriously intrigued about all this, turning slightly on his bed to look at him.

"With my current status, I can't do that." Will admitted, serious.

"If that's the case, are you an illegal immigrant? Or wanted by the police?" Nico speculated, but Will didn't seem in the sharing mood.

"Don't ask me why. You said I'm your life savior. You can at least help me to that extent." Will sounded like a kid making a tantrum, but if Nico had known the reason why at that moment, he would have understood.

However, he did not.

"Even if you're my life savior, I can't do that. I don't know anything about you, and the police are even suspecting that you are an accomplice." He explained to him, hearing him sigh. "You should talk to the police if you want to prove your innocence."

"You know that I'm not an accomplice." Will stated. This time, Nico sounded caught and decided to test him.

"Why do you think I know?"

"Your intuition." _I did not see that one coming..._ "You know with your intuition." This time, Nico chuckles, not believing his luck.

"You seem to know well about me. And also with the beauty talk."

"Yes, I know a lot about you." Will confessed to him before he got shocked once more. "You also think I'm the key to your life." That one was too big to pass by.

"Will Solace, what's your identity?"

"If you want to know, just let me go for now." He demanded, gently. "I'll tell you the next time we meet." He promised, serious. "I can't really tell you right now."

"You deal well." Nico recognized.

"It's not a deal, but it's a favor." Will corrected him. "I have a circumstance, please." He pleaded gently.

"Hold on." Nico asked, picking his phone up.

* * *

In another place inside the hospital, Percy was leading Reyna towards and inside an elevator. However, Reyna didn't understand why.

"Why is it that he said not to come up but meet downstairs?"

"I'm not sure." Percy replied, ignorant. "Maybe Detective Park has something to say in private."

* * *

Back in the room, Will was amazed by the ease Nico made his escape possible.

"So you'll tell me everything the next time we meet?" Will found himself nodding fast in agreement. "When?" Nico was adamant into knowing. "I can only let you go if you promise me. I'm really curious about you, Will Solace." He admitted.

"I'm not sure." Will was honestly not sure when he was gonna be dragged back into the manhwa again. Nor what time would be when he came back. "When you're released?" He compromised.

"Fine, when I'm released." Nico agreed. "They said that your phone number is fake, so take this. I use many phones." He leaned over his nightstand to give him his phone. Will took it, concern. "I'll contact you once I'm released."

"If this has any tracking device or anything else in it, it won't well." Will warned him, not actually sure what would happen to the phone when he got back. That actually made Nico chuckle.

"I don't do that kind of things to my life's savior." He said, serious, before adding. "You said you know me well. You just have to keep your promise. I'm going to trust that you'll be in contact and let you go."

"How do you know that?" Will wanted to know before Nico gave him an enigmatic smile.

"Instinct." Both Nico and Will stared at each other for a moment and neither could admit the stare down was anything but nice. However, a text interrupted that. "You can leave now." Nico told him after reading it. Will nodded his thanks and had gotten up to leave when Nico called him back. "Right, forget what I've said." Will looked at him, confused and not knowing what he was talking about. "It was dark that day, so I didn't really know, but you are handsome." He continued, smirking at him. "I take back my word on saying anyone can be pretty."

It was Will's time to smirk.

"It seems you got caught."

"Yes, by a lot."

"You're just saying that, but you're still thinking that anyone can be handsome." Will argued with him, pointing a finger in an accusatory manner, surprising Nico. "I know you very well. I also know that you give out lots of compliments towards girls. Even when you don't have any interest in them."

That made Nico release a short laugh.

"This is getting interesting. I'm anticipating the next time we meet." This made Will pause, not knowing when it would be the next time he'd see him. Nico then got another text. "Hurry and leave, the police is here." He informed him. Will immediately turned to leave, but not without parting words. "See you next time."

* * *

_What do I do?_ Was Will first thought after reaching the nearest bus stop once he was helped out the hospital. _How do I go back now?_ "How was it like last time?" He asked himself. "It was..." The memory of the words '_**To Be Continue**_' written in the air came to his mind. _That later became the manhwa's ending cut and as soon as it ended I returned..._ "The last time I was there, it lasted for 30 minutes. Let's wait a bit more then." He acknowledged, checking his watch.

And he sat there, waiting. Checking his watch once in a while and, in complete honesty, getting frustrated about it.

"What the? 30 minutes have passed. Why is nothing happening?" He wondered, desperate.

Suddenly, the clock hands began moving an alarming rate, first moving some minutes, then hours and hours ahead. Had Will been paying attention around him, he would have seen that the clock hands weren't the only ones moving faster than normal. Cars, passersby and even the weather and daylight did the same, along.

When Will finally paid attention, it was a beautiful sunny day and not the night he had a few minutes ago- according to him, that's it. He checked his watch after checking his surroundings and even had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly.

What scared him the most was the ringing phone.

"Geez! That scared me!" He complained to no one before eyeing the phone. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to answer. "Hello?"

_"Will Solace?"_ Just hearing that voice through the phone was confusing, though Will knew exactly who it was. _"Have you been well? Let's meet now."_

"What?"

_"Do you have time?"_

"What?" Apparently, the shock had only left one word in Will's vocabulary.

_"Where are you right now? In New York?"_

"Yes..." _Well, two actually..._

_"Where?"_ Finally, Will's neurons connected to each other and gave his exact location. Though he sounded doubtful about it.

"At the bus stop near the hospital?"

_"Wait here, I'll come."_ And with that, the call was done.

"Hello? Hello?!" Will repeated over the phone as if he hadn't been aware of the phone being terminated. "What is happening...?" He asked himself while looking around, frantically. It was then when his brain showed a new termination program. "What is... What the? What is that...?"

Meanwhile, from the parking lot of the hospital that was directly across from where Will was sitting, a red bright Lotus Evora sports car slid to the street and directly into the bus stop, getting the attention of many passersby.

However, Will was more concern about the driver than the car.

The passenger's seat's window suddenly rolled down and showed the smiling and- why not -the cheeky face of Nico di Angelo.

"Will Solace, how have you been?" The way Will was staring at him was one of utter confusion. Nico seemed not to care about that and got down the car, looking Will with an air of confidence while taking off his sunglasses. "What a coincidence that you're near here. I just got discharged."

"Discharged?" Will repeated, not understanding. "You've already healed?" He wanted to check.

"Not really... I've stayed here for 2 months." Nico seemed to have decided to be either helpful or cheeky all the way. He smiled at Will while going around his own car and open the door for him. However, Will had been shocked in silence by his passing-by statement.

_2 months have already passed?_ He panicked, thinking about the consequences. _Had I lost two months of my life for real? Or I'll go back to the moment I left? Or a few minutes later?_ Thankfully- or sadly, however you want to see it -Nico decided to speak at that moment.

"Get on."

"Why?" For the first time since they got reunited, Nico seemed kind of nervous.

"We can't keep talking on the street. Let's go somewhere." Will looked unsure, but a nod from Nico told him he wasn't going to get away with this one so easily. Resigned at his luck, for now, Will got inside the car. "Let's eat lunch. What do you like?" Nico asked him as soon as he had gotten back in the car.

"Well... whatever."

Seconds later, Will had the shock of his life when Nico leaned over him in a really close-space distance. He relaxed when realizing Nico was reaching for the seatbelt but that didn't make the situation less uncomfortable.

"How have you been all this time?" Nico wondered, in what seemed a friendly way.

_What do you mean? Not even 30 minutes passed by!_ Will argued with him in his mind. For obvious reasons, he couldn't share that!

"Nothing happened?" Nico insisted.

_Of course not! It has only been 30 minutes!_ Will could feel Nico's curious face on him while he kept quiet and debated with himself. _No way... How did 2 months already pass?_ It was then when Will decided to look at him in a medical sense. _But he looks perfectly fine._ The wound on his hand had disappeared. _I think he's really better now._

"I'm going to a restaurant where I'm a regular. That's okay, right?" It was obvious that Nico was finally awkward with the situation and decided to fill the silence rather than allow him to continue to stare. Will's head nod was enough for him to turn on the car.

However, Will's mind was nowhere near to being calm. In fact, it was going at the same speed as the sports car!

_Perhaps, is this it? This is a manhwa. Since this is a manhwa, the time goes by according to the story's needs._ He glanced at Nico, who was driving and looking at the road. _That's right. Nico di Angelo is the main character of this. The time in which the main character is not featured is unnecessary, so it skipped over the times when he was in the hospital._ He began moving his fingers to process his theory, unaware that Nico had decided that second to look at him. _I think that's the case. Then what about me? What happened to me? Have I gone missing for two months?_ The worry came back and his face could only be described as horrid.

"Aren't you hot?" Nico broke the silence during a traffic light.

"What?"

"It said the temperature is going to be 84.2 degrees today." It was that moment that Will noticed that he was still with a winter sweater. Plus, around on the streets, people were wearing short sleeves and drinking cold beverages while fanning themselves. "You weren't homeless the whole time, right?"

"Yes, well..." _How do I explain this...?_

"I think that you were wearing these clothes two months ago too." Nico continued with his thought alone. When Will didn't answer him, Nico shot him a smirk and turned the car around. They drove for a while in silence until Nico pulled over by a big building. "We should get out." Will looked at him, not understanding. "The company will compensate you formally, but I will buy your summer clothes before that."

"No, it's okay." Will tried to persuade him but that only managed a chuckle from his driver.

"You look really hot." No weird was happening here. The weather was hot. Will was using winter clothes. Easy.

"No, not at all." Will insisted.

"You have sweat on your forehead." Nico pointed at his own forehead to show, prompting Will to do the same, who realized his mistake.

He would have to give in. Again.

* * *

The store had turned in a circus, according to Will.

It was a high-end male store that was filled with more females than anything. The news that Nico di Angelo was there had spread faster than the wind. What was more disorientated than anything to Will was the fact that Nico didn't seem to mind the attention, while he was struggling to make a decision.

A sales assistant had placed a rack full of summer suits and Will could not take a decision. Obviously, that he was distracted because he didn't want Nico to buy him anything and the people around taking pictures was a given. Plus, there was another problem now!

"You can pick anything you like." Nico ushered him. It was obvious for him that this was taking too long.

_What do I do now?_ Will wondered in silence. _If I knew I'll be meeting him thirty minutes, I wouldn't have promised. I wouldn't have picked up the phone. What should I do?_ Will argued with himself. Finally- and knowing he wouldn't be able to ignore him for long -, Will grabbed a slightly dark suit with a white shirt and black dressing shoes from the rack and went to the fitting room. "Why is the chapter so long?" He started to pace as soon as he changed clothes. "Last time, it ended in thirty minutes. Why isn't it ending, when it's been two months? What if time keeps flying by like this?" He wondered to himself before getting a breakthrough. "That's right. This is a manhwa series. This is a manhwa series!" He repeated, more confident. "So does that mean it needs a catalyst to move into the next chapter for this to end?" He said, knowing he was alone. "That's right. Something must happen to the main character. An incident that can serve as the ending!" _An incident! What kind of incident?_

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Confidently, Will stepped outside the fitting room and strode through the hallways of the store until he saw where Nico was. He was, at the moment, making a phone call, but Will was on a mission. One he didn't do that often.

"Wait a minute." Nico spoke to whoever was on the other line before smirking at Will. "It looks good on you. You should get that one-" Anything that Nico wanted to add after that was cut effectively.

**SMACK!**

Under the shocking face of Nico, the store's employees and the curious ones that had come to take a glimpse at Nico, Will Solace had slapped him.

Will himself was in a state of panic. He had never slapped someone in his life, but right now it seemed like the only thing left. _He is shocked, right? This is sufficient as an ending, right?_ He began to look around for the air-written words but nothing was happening. _What? It's not?!_

"What is this? Why did I get slapped after buying you clothes?" Though with reason, Will could not answer that question from Nico, who was as stoic as a rock. Had someone knew what Will knew and was looking from outside, that would have resulted in that someone laughing. "How can I interpret this?"

"T-T-That..." Will was in no other state than to stutter an apology. "I'm sorry!" _Tactical retreat!_ But he had forgotten one little detail.

"Will Solace." Nico followed him- not that Will had done too many steps away -before grabbing his arm to stop him. "When you slap a person, there should be a reason." Nico smirking at the situation wasn't helping!

_If this isn't it..._ Will's mind was going fast, slightly ignoring what was going on.

"Will Solace." Nico called him, serious.

_Perhaps... This?_

And Will leaned forward without thinking it too much.

And kissed Nico di Angelo

_"What is she doing right now?"_

_"What is she doing?"_

The talk of the day would be this, evidently. Some of the people in the store had been too shocked that had forgotten they had their cellphones in their hands. One man, however, did not and was filming the unannounced event that was occurring.

The kiss didn't last much, Will simply wanted to shock him. However, and based on Nico's non-reaction- his face was stiffer than a mannequin -, that wasn't being helpful.

_What do I do? This doesn't seem to be it either!_ Will ranted with himself while looking around.

"What are you doing right now?" Finally, a reaction from Nico that was helpful and Will saw what he was looking for: air-written words.

Not wanting to explain anything that he just had done, Will ran towards the fitting rooms and closed the door.

This time, no one followed.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, guys._

_First of all, I apologize for last weekend, it was a complicated weekend, plus it was my birthday weekend and I was answering the phone more times than I remember, hehe... That aside, yesterday Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay had a massive blackout- historic event they called it! Which is why I haven't posted._

_Rectifying that now!_

**_Saving Time - A Caleo Story_**_: 1 chapter!_

**_Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story_**_: 1 chapter!_

_I hope to manage to catch up during the week, so I'll probably post longer next one! See you then!_  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	6. Episode 2, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 2: Part 3**

* * *

To say Nico di Angelo was surprised it would have been the understatement of the century.

Sadly, any rational thinking about what just happened would need to be postponed, as ordering the shoppers and the staff of the store to keep quiet would be a priority.

That, and answering to Reyna's insistent calls.

_"Hello? Did you get slapped? What happened?"_ Reyna insisted from Nico's forgotten phone on his hand. _"CEO di Angelo, are you listening?"_ Composing, Nico knew he had to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

_"That scared me."_ Reyna scolded him, breathing in relief. _"What's wrong? What happened?"_

"Will Solace, he is quite a man." That answer only puzzled Reyna and he could sense it in her next answer.

_"What do you mean?"_

"It's like this. '_The crazy b*tch in this area is me_'." Nico quoted, before deciding to tackle the issue in hand. "Wait a minute." He headed to the fitting room, slightly amused if he had to admit to himself. "Will Solace." He walked into the room only to find it... empty. The room was enough to hold probably four people comfortably and it was full of clothes... but no Will. Nico could not understand it. He had headed in this direction and there's no other place to hide... how did he disappear again?

"CEO, by any chance, is there a problem?" The manager of the store found him making himself these question. He solved that problem closing the door of the fitting room. Something didn't fit. He noticed that Will's clothes were still there, on a counter that was inside the room. In between all the clothes, there was Will's entrance pass. He couldn't help but smirk.

_He'll be back..._

* * *

Meanwhile, Will had returned back to the Hospital in a daze.

So much, he missed the mockery coming from his colleagues, especially Lee.

"You, seriously? Are you making the coffee yourself?" Lee got up to greet him. "What's with your clothes?" It was then when Katie turned to see him properly too.

"Oh my, Doctor Solace. Your clothes..." She pointed out a little obvious.

"You were late because you were buying clothes?" Lee chastized him, back on his chair. That did pull Will momentaneously out of his daze.

"How long did it take me just now?"

"Thirty minutes." Lee replied to him, after checking the wall's clock.

_Not two months, but thirty minutes?_ He thought to himself, looking at the clock as well. He ignored Katie's questions of where he had gotten the clothes, only to turn his head back to the desk and get the shock of his life.

There, in all its glory, on the screen, was the manhwa.

Right at the kissing scene.

"AHH!" Will shouted in surprise, scaring everyone.

"What is it?" Katie asked back, worried. However, she immediately understood once Will stared at the screen. "Have you seen this? It was just uploaded. See." She explained to him, a little more relaxed. But that was not Will's state.

"It- It was already uploaded?" He stammered, looking a bit panicky.

"A while ago. It came out today really quickly." Katie informed him, paying no attention to his face. "The comments are going crazy right now. People are angry that the first kiss scene is with a psycho." _Me? A psycho?_ "And they are angry that it's not with Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. But I really like things like this." She announced, smiling. "A random love line." Katie then turned to Will, smiling softly. "Tell your father that his manhwas are making my heart flutter."

"Love line?" Will repeated, not understanding.

"I don't like it when the male and female character get together expectedly. It's too obvious."

"What are you saying?" Lee argued with her, both leaving Will out of the conversation. "He should be with Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. She has big boobs too. And she's a woman."

"You are so _perverted_!" Katie accused him, illustrating her point by covering her chest.

While hearing them, Will took the random- not to random for him, actually -of turning the screen off.

"Why did you turn it off?" Katie wanted to know.

"The screen is too big..." Caught red-handed, Will began to stutter an explanation. "It's strangely embarrassing to see it. Why is the monitor so big, for no reason?" He went back to the screen excuse.

"You're even more strange." Lee decreed, making Will frown at him. "Is it because the character's name is Will Solace? Does it feel like you are kissing Nico di Angelo?" If you only knew... Comically, Will's fury and indignation released themselves in the form of... hiccups.

"Doctor Solace! You didn't even take out the tag yet." Katie got up and began reaching for the tag in the neck of the suit.

"It's okay. I can take it out myself. Just leave it-" Will tried to stop her between his hiccups but he was no successful.

"Did you steal it from somewhere?" Lee joked at him. Not able to calm himself, Will opted for a hasty retreat into the resting room. "Hey, where are you going? You're not eating?"

* * *

Back in the studio, Kayla, Connor, and Travis were still working when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Connor heard Travis answer. "Ah, hello." Travis repeated, nicely. "We are working on it right now." _Apparently, someone is asking about the manhwa..._ "What? When?" That made both Connor and Kayla look up. "No. Just a minute." He placed the phone down and spoke directly to Kayla. "Big Sis, they said that the editorial department already received the file."

"What do you mean?" Kayla repeated, unsure

"Take this call." Travis advised her, handing him the phone.

"Yes. Hello?" Kayla spoke through the phone. "We haven't finished half of it yet." She informed them while Connor did his own investigation. "Yes. Who?"

"What is this? It's already up." Connor announced, not happy with his search.

"E-Excuse me. Just a minute." Kayla excused herself and Connor could see her checking the official website for any updates. And she, like the rest of them, found them. "What is this? Who...?" She looked around to the siblings and neither knew what had happened. "We didn't upload this." He told the editor. "This was uploaded by mistake. We are working on it right now. What? E-Excuse me. Just a minute." Kayla hastily got up and went looking for Master.

_Someone was not gonna be happy..._

"It seems that Master sent it in himself." Kayla informed the editor once she was out of the room. "He didn't tell us and sent it in." The boys frowned at this but thought it possible. "Yes. Yes. Ah, yes."

A slam was heard and Master had come out of his room, completely furious. Both Connor and Travis even got up to avoid being scolded.

"Give me the phone." He demanded.

"Master is asking to speak with you." Kayla managed to say before the phone was torn off her ear.

"Hello. This is Apollo Solace." Whatever was being told to him couldn't decipher because Master was keeping a straight face. "Take that down because I accidentally sent it." Everyone shared a look in surprise but refused to say anything. "I'll send another one to you, so take that one down. That is not the right one." Obviously, the reply he got wasn't the one he wanted. "I said to take it down immediately." It was obvious that he was trying to keep calm but that was lost soon. "If I said to take it down, take it down! Why do you have so much to say? I'll send you a new one by dawn, so take that down. Got that?!" Everyone was so shocked, Kayla even jumped in her place. Not seconds later, came another shock for the artists. "And you guys, pack your things and go home."

"What?" Everyone looked lost but it was Kayla who spoke up.

"Today will become the last chapter." Master announced, serious. "I can do the remaining parts on my own so there's nothing for you all to do anymore. This team disbands as of today. Go rest at home."

"Uh, Master, why are you suddenly– We want to finish together–" One stare of Master told Kayla and the rest that it was better to keep quiet.

"You guys have worked hard." With that, Master disappeared back into his room and no amount of calling back would help.

"Why is he getting angry at us?" Travis wondered, rightfully.

"I don't understand this." Connor agreed with his brother. "Why did he send it without telling us? Then tell us that it is not the right one and to take it down."

"How could he draw so fast?" Travis picked the threat back. "That's impossible. We weren't even down with half of it, but he finished the rest so quickly."

"That's like that, but the story's weird too. Why suddenly a kiss scene?" Connor argued. "The teacher would never have kiss scenes or bed scenes."

Unknown to the siblings, Kayla was letting her mind run.

* * *

At the same time, in the resting room of the hospital and still with his fury induced hiccups, Will was checking the manhwa's update.

"Oh my." He mumbled, watching himself on the screen. "Things that I do... How could I..." When he reached the slapping scene, he even placed a hand on his own cheek, wincing in pain. "This is unbelievable." He kept scrolling down and covered his eyes at the kissing scene. Though, if he had to be honest with himself... _It wasn't that bad_. Luckily, the shock and the realization stopped her hiccups the second he decided to be slightly rational- or as rational one can be in this kind of situations -and call his father. "Hello? Dad?" No reply. "You saw the manhwa right?" No reply and Will left no room to one either. "Don't pretend you don't know. You can't deny it anymore. I met Nico di Angelo two times already. Just as you see in the manhwa. I experienced it all. I spent two months there. What is going on?" He finished his rant, surprisingly calm. "Why is Nico di Angelo alive? And why are you..."

"You said I was a murderer, right?" His father finally interrupted him. "I drew that. It is my work. I am the God in my work since I created everything." He was getting worked up and Will could hear it. "How can it be a murder when God eliminates his creation? That's not a murder. That's called a judgment. He's a monster. I didn't know in the beginning, but it turned out that I made a monster. That's why I decided to make a judgment call. Because he is a wrongfully made can I leave him as it is? I'm about to be eaten. I should have ended it earlier. That time on top of the Henry Hudson Bridge."

"What are you saying?" Will noticed he slipped and decided to ask.

"Forget about it." His father quickly covered it. "What you saw today was a delusion. Forget everything."

"Dad, it wasn't a delusion." Will argued with him. "I experienced it all. How can you call it a delusion?"

"If I said forget it, forget about it!" Will opened his eyes wide at the shouting. "Do you want to hear that we're both crazy? It's good enough that I'm the only crazy guy. Don't interfere. It is dangerous." He ordered him before hanging up.

"Hello?" Will called, trying to find sense into his words. Right in that second, Lee walked into the room and Will made his mind. "Lee, do me a favor. I'm going to leave for a bit." And, without even giving more explanations, he left, leaving a very confused Lee behind.

"Where are you going after coming back?"

* * *

Nico di Angelo was driving his car in relatively calm after the event of the day. He even had taken Will's left behind clothes with him.

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

"What happened? The sales manager just called–" Nico couldn't identify if Reyna was agitated or scolding him by her voice coming from the other side of the phone.

"You heard? Sorry, but can you fix the mess for me?" He asked before turning serious. "Especially the video. You have to block it."

"I'm going there right now, but what video?" Reyna informed him. "The manager was being hesitant." Nico couldn't help but smirk.

"When you see it, you'll get mad and will probably start cursing me out." He predicted. "I swear that it didn't happen because Will Solace is a beauty." He tried to calm her before adding. "And I'm certain that I found it."

"What?"

"The key to my life." Nico didn't allow the silence to settle before adding. "And I am not saying this because Will Solace is a beauty. If Will Solace is a beauty, then anyone can

be one. He is the biggest psycho I have met. Even with that said, she is still my lifesaver." He continued his explanation for Reyna's sake- though that would be debatable. "And I am certain that he is the key to my life. So you have to protect his identity. No matter what happens, you have to make sure he doesn't stand out to the public, get investigated by the police, or have his name floating around in the media. You know what I am saying, right?" Nico could imagine Reyna nodding or closing her eyes. "Take care of it for me. I'm going to stop by the company..."

Nico had to stop talking. From the other side of the road in the opposite direction, a semi truck was being driven before changing its direction rapidly and heading in high speed towards him. It was a matter of seconds where Nico realized that the truck was going to impact with him. Also, in those seconds, Nico noticed that the truck had no license plate... nor driver.

In a split of a second decision, Nico turned the wheel of his car so he could avoid the truck, forcing him to hit the sidewalk. The car looked like it was ready to even flip in the air. It was then when Nico noticed something.

He didn't feel the collision.

He wasn't feeling pain.

He dared to open his eyes to see the impossible on his eyes.

Things were still, especially those things that were flying mid-air when he was trying to save his life by maneuvering his car. People had been frozen in spot, in different positions like screaming or walking. A small panic attack was beginning in his mind before he decided to take advantage of the situation.

Stepping hard onto the accelerator, Nico could hear the tires moving so used that to move the car out of the way of the truck, missing it by little. His maneuvering left his own car on the next crosswalk, only seconds before everything went back into motion before his confused eyes.

Taking a few seconds to sigh in relief, Nico stepped out of his car and began looking everywhere for a clue or someone responsible for this incident. In a struck of inspiration, he looked up into the sky, as if contained the truth of the universe.

Little did he know he was right.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone!_

_I have no excuse but to say I was lazy, procrastinating and frankly... I had lost my muse temporarily! Luckily, I found it just in time to write today's updates and I think you'll like them..._

_So, here we go!_

**_Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story_**_: 1 chapter! Is short in comparison with the others, but it's important on its own... also #LoveIsLove !_

**_Saving Time - A Caleo Story_**_: 2 chapters! This was mostly where I lost my muse, I just hope I got it back..._

_Love you all!_  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	7. Episode 3, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 3: Part 1**

* * *

When Will arrived at his father's house later that night, he was greeted by a spacing out Kayla who immediately greeted him back.

"Big Bro..." She called him.

"Oh! Dad is in his room, right?" Will passed by her and gestured the room to barge in but Kayla stopped him.

"He left."

"Again?" Will looked back, shocked, and didn't hesitate to keep asking. "Where to?"

"I don't know." Kayla muttered, leaning against the wall. "He even took all of his belongings and left. He kicked us out too, suddenly telling us to leave. So, I sent Travis and Connor home already." Kayla explained before adding. "And no matter how much I think about it, it's weird. It seems like he told us to leave because I told you that Nico di Angelo was going to die. Then that person right there is you, Big Bro." Kayla pointed out at the screen where Will could see himself but he kept quiet this time. "After I told you that Nico di Angelo was going to die, you went into the cartoon and saved Nico di Angelo, and then came back out." Will was slightly enjoying this, nodding in the right place while Kayla laid out her theory. "But see the thing is. It doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense, but this came out it a way that it did. This doesn't make sense, but it does, and it came..." Will saw Kayla's eyes wondering over him and he knew what she was seeing. "Big Bro, this..."

"Kayla. Listen carefully." Will forced Kayla to pay attention to him, gesturing the suit he was still wearing and that was displayed, in all its glory, in the manhwa. "Do you know how much this suit costs? Over $2600!" He told her, using his fingers to emphasize it, not even giving her time to process it. "And how about those shoes? Do you think I would've or wouldn't have bought these with my own money?" He tried to appeal to the logic side and Kayla seem to be getting the idea, opening her mouth big. "That's right. Then, among the people near me, who would be capable of purchasing this $3000 suit so~ nonchalantly?"

Will could see in Kayla's eyes the determination of 'not' believing what was happening and, in another set of circumstances, Will could react the same way.

But not today.

"Th- the doctor." Will sighed when she mentioned Lee. "Professor Alcepius? Your dad?" With every name, Will was getting desperate. "Not your dad, then... Nico di Angelo then." It surprised Will how Kayla didn't even stutter when mentioning his name.

"Can you believe me now? Huh?" In any other situation, Will could have found Kayla's reaction slightly funny but it was his job to know that she was alright. The poor girl had gone very still with- what it seemed at the moment -a permanent face of shock. She was moving slowly in her spot until she decided to take a step and directly collapsed on the floor. "Kayla!" Thankfully, she hadn't lost consciousness. "Hey, Kayla!"

"Don't come near me! Don't touch me!" She began to crawl away from Will who wanted to help her up from the floor. "Why are you... AH!"

_Arguing with her is like arguing with a wall..._ Will rolled his eyes and walked into his father's office/room. When Kayla recovered, she would follow him. It didn't take her long to do so.

"I mean how... how can something like this happen? How could this be?" She stuttered behind him but Will was more focus on something else, using his phone.

"Stay quiet!" He ordered her, making a call.

"Ok fine. I'll stay quiet, but tell me how you went in? Can you go in whenever you want to, while I can't?" Kayla wanted to know, understandable curiously about it.

"I don't know why I keep going in either." Will admitted, upset the call didn't reach. "When I came to my senses, I was inside the manhwa."

"Aish." Kayla cried a little in exasperation.

"Instead, I found out about a few things for certain." Will recalled his last experience's revelations. "Everything in that world spins around Nico di Angelo. If something doesn't relate to Nico di Angelo, then it isn't featured in the manhwa. The time I spent wandering on my own? My thoughts? None of that is there. It's all edited out. Because Nico di Angelo is the main character and I am just his acquaintance." Will ranted, once again a world of his own. "The time also flows in accordance with Nico di Angelo." He spoke, remembering how the watch had spun out of control. "Time skips when Nico di Angelo is not active. That's why 2 months passed right before my eyes! The 5 minutes I was gone here could be 2 months in W's time. It can also be 2 years or 20 years as well."

"How... How can that be possible?" Kayla wanted to know.

"Think about it. It has been 7 years since this story started. In 7 years, 12 years have passed for Nico di Angelo. There's no other choice but to compress time, so only important events are shown." Will explained, understanding perfectly now the time spin. "Also, the way to come back depends on Nico di Angelo. There must be a change in Nico di Angelo in order to be an ending. When there's an ending, one episode ends, then I am able to return. That's why I had no choice but to... do it." Will finished, finally coming to terms with what he had done.

"What did you do?" Kayla repeated, before realizing why Will had turned shy all the sudden. "You mean the '_kiss_'?!" Will's guilty face was enough for the girl in front of him. "Big Bro, did you really kiss Nico di Angelo? Seriously?!"

"There was no other choice!" Will defended himself, a bit embarrassed. "I had to surprise him or something! Because I needed to create an ending!" He justified his actions.

"No way, you probably had that in mind from the beginning." Kayla argued with him, a bit put out. Will stared at her as if she was crazy. "Who doesn't know that you're a Nico di Angelo fan."

"I told you it's not!" Will repeated, this one being his turn of being exasperated.

"So was it good?" Kayla wondered but Will was with his mind elsewhere he didn't realize what she was asking.

"What? What?"

"I mean, you're a character and not a real person." Kayla hinted, slightly insisting on the topic. "So the sensation when you kissed...? Or the feelings you felt while you were kissing?" Will would never admit it but this mind did travel back to that unexpected and rushed kiss before shaking his head.

"Who has time to feel anything when they're in a hurry!" He scolded her before continuing. "Also, he is not a cartoon character. He is definitely a person. There wasn't any difference at all. He was exactly the same!" He stated, closing the argument.

"You were in a hurry. Alright, fine." Kayla conceded. But pushed the matter. "Then was Nico di Angelo really that cool?"

"He is cool." He agreed, smiling softly.

"Then did you also see Reyna Ramirez-Arellano?"

"Of course I did." Where is she going with this...?

"Are her breasts really big?"

"That's a personal question. Why are you asking about her breasts?" Will made a frown, not understanding. Kayla, however, covered her own embarrassment with a little tantrum.

"I'm really going to go mad! When you keep going on like that, it really feels like it's real!"

"It really is real though." Will insisted. "If you saw him, you'd come to know why I tried to save him. He's just... a person. Like us. So how could I leave him to die when I knew! On top of that, I'm a doctor." He justified himself.

"Oh! The Master said he'd end it today." Kayla remembered, getting Will's attention.

"End what?"

"He said today was the last episode." She recalled, not sounding very enthusiastic about it. "Since he said he'd draw it again, he'll probably end it with killing Nico di Angelo." This earned her a very surprised Will. "I think he left because he didn't want to be interrupted."

"He's killing Nico di Angelo _again_?!"

* * *

While looking for clues as to what his father would do next, Will found old journals that contained his father's handwriting. He would correctly assume that they would contain information he had gathered to write the story as they were labeled '**W**' and the year of publishing.

He began by reading the 2009 journals, as he recalled that his father had tried to kill Nico di Angelo before. He saw information about Olympic shooters, like Nick Mewrer, along with pictures and news articles about the places he had chosen to be the background. However, what he didn't expect was to find his father's thoughts written all over the pages.

'_**Will left, now I'm alone... I'm the only person left in this house. I no longer have any family. I don't have any will. When I can't even draw a single panel, how can I continue this story? That's right. It's a pity, but we'll end it here!**'_

An entry from the next day explained the change of heart in the scene.

'_**It was a strange occurrence. I clearly ended it last night with him in the water Nico di Angelo is still alive. He was hanging on with one hand. All night. Did I drunkenly imagine it? Did I imagine that I killed him without even drawing it? But... This somehow feels like a revelation. Telling me to try one more time.**'_

'_**That's why... I decided to save Nico di Angelo.**_'

Will was morbidly fascinated with what he was reading. He moved on to the next journal, this time, a year later. The journal was less on his father and more on Nico di Angelo's character recovery. How he had managed to turn his fortune around and how- for the first time -the manhwa 'revealed' the reason behind being called '**W**'. How he managed to convince a friend of his father to run a broadcasting company with the aim of catching criminals and fulfill justice.

'**W- Who / Why**'

At the end of a page, he found a little note from his father.

'_**Things are going too well. It's almost hard to believe. I have clearly succeeded too. Naomi is probably regretting dumping me and leaving me, right?**_'

The next page had a more focused entry.

'_**Recently, weird things keep happening. There are a few times when my drawings don't go the way I want. It almost feels like Nico di Angelo is rebelling because he doesn't like where the story is going. Is it because of the alcohol?**_'

'_**He's alive. He is alive. I am certain of it now. But how? How is he alive?**_'

Finally, very late at night, Will reached that year's journals, only to begin with a familiar picture with a familiar phrase on it.

'_I'd rather eat him than be eaten._'

'_**Monster. He is a monster. Someday he'll probably end up killing me. I'd rather eat him than be eaten. No, I should have killed him when I could. Back at the Henry Hudson Bridge... Everything went wrong starting there.**_'

* * *

"What medicine is that?" Will glanced to the door of the resting room from where Lee was walking in. He had returned back to the Hospital after reading his father's journals and was with a small headache now.

"My head just hurts a little." He admitted, taking a pill.

"You walked around wearing a summer suit in the rain. I bet you have a cold." Lee scolded him.

"I know, right?" Will agreed, no noticing what Lee was doing, which was getting ready for a nap.

"Exactly, why'd you walk around looking like that at night? No one's even looking." Will decided not to even bother with that last comment.

"I'm going to head out first." And that he did. He could barely walk, the headache seemingly being bigger than he thought. Though his problems weren't limited to that.

"I'm going crazy." Will looked up from his way and saw Professor Alscepius actually reading the latest update of '**W**'... in the vignette of the kiss! "What is this?" Slowly and quietly, Will backed up from him. "I'm seriously going to go crazy. This Will Solace..." Luck seemed to be on his side this morning because right behind Will- and also Professor Alscepius, though he didn't realize it -an elevator was coming to save the day. "Will Solace, seriously..." Fortunately, Will was able to escape before he realized he was behind him.

Only to fall in an elevator full of people reading '**W**'!

He couldn't even escape it on the bus stop!

"Hey, Nico di Angelo kissed her!"

"Seriously?"

"Who is this girl? She's despicable."

"This is a hidden camera prank. A hidden camera prank that the whole nation is watching." Will mumbled to himself, hoping this nightmare to be over for now. The phone rang in that second, distracting him. "Yes, Kayla. I'm getting off of work right now. What about dad?"

_"He hasn't come home yet."_ Kayla informed him. _"That... no matter how I think about it, I still can't believe it. How can that happen? Also, things that I don't understand. Let's say you got dragged by Nico di Angelo at first. Then why did you get back in again after that?"_ It looked like Kayla did put on some thought into it.

"I don't know either."

_"I mean, you said it needs an ending in order for you to come out. If there are rules to get out, there must be rules to get in. And why only you?"_ Kayla insisted before turning worried. _"But isn't that the biggest problem? What if you suddenly get forcibly summoned? What are you going to do then? Who knows what will happen if you get involved with Nico di Angelo-"_

That was the last thing Will heard before passing out.

* * *

Nico di Angelo was driving, trying to find some sense into what had happened some minutes ago when he received a call.

"Hello?"

_"I'm at the store."_ Reyna's voice came from the other side and not even her managed to calm him down.

"Oh, did you meet the manager?" He asked, focused on his driving.

_"Mr. Solace is here."_ That did shock him.

"What?"

_"He is here. In the fitting room."_ It only took Nico two seconds to decide what to do. He turned around the car and drove back to the store. As soon as he returned to the store, he saw Reyna standing there with whom he assumed were the manager and a young employee.

"What happened?" He then noticed the young blonde man sleeping on the couch.

"That's my question." Reyna demanded back, arms crossed over her chest. "He was inside but why did you say he wasn't..." Nico ignored her questions and kneeled down in front of the young man. "Mr. Solace?"

"I tried. He is not waking up." Reyna acknowledged. Nico knew he had to act fast, especially when he heard the young employee calling 911.

"Is this 911? There's a patient here..."

"Don't call them." Nico ordered, covering Will's body with a blanket under the shocking sight of the witnesses. "Hang up the phone." He even missed the exasperated and resigned look of Reyna's face while he was placing his arm under Will's head and picking him up in his arms.

"Oh God. What are you going to do?" The manager tried to know but Nico ignored the voice and kept walking, forcing the others to follow him.

"Where are you going?" Reyna hissed at him, trying to keep up.

"We can't go to the hospital. We are going to the hotel." He announced, serious.

"How are you going to take responsibility?" Reyna pushed and Nico did stop walking this time to look at her.

"Send Doctor Yew. I go ahead first, you finish the business." Nico said before smiling tightly at her. He headed out and placed Will on the passenger's seat, covering him with the blanket. It was then when Will finally opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Why am I here again?" He mumbled, displaying his tiredness as his eyes didn't open fully.

"I'm also curious. Why did you return?" Nico admitted, smirking at his new passenger.

"I don't know either." With that, Will fell asleep again, making Nico lose his cheeky smile. He should measure his time well and get some answers.

This time, he would get them.

* * *

_I'd like to point out a few things about the timeline. The show was aired in 2016, which is the time I'd follow, as it's easier when it comes to the numbers (they are already there). However, as I needed to add some real-life people like 2012 Olympic shooter Nick Mowrer (who, coincidentally, is the same age as Nico and Will in the story!). I'm sorry for the mix-up, but I think it works better that way for the story._

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone!_

_Well, I think I'll congratulate myself... I promised that I'll post and I'm doing so... but not completely. However! I'm on the writing right now, so I may post later too!_

_So, here we go!_

**_Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story_**_: 1 chapter! Is short in comparison with the others, but as I said, I'm still writing..._

_Love you all!_  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	8. Episode 3, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 3: Part 2**

* * *

The morning came and with that, a wide awake and recovered Will.

The second Will opened his eyes, he was aware enough he hadn't dream he was back into the manhwa world. He jumped out the bed! The shock was enormous!

"Where am I?" He had to engage his brain into functioning again when he saw where he was. "Is this Nico di Angelo's room?" He looked around and the view convinced him that he was, indeed, in Nico di Angelo's room. "It is! This is Nico di Angelo's bed and- Oh my god!" He began to point things around before rambling to himself. "Did I come in again? Why? H-How? What was I doing?" He was still not over his shock when the room's door opened up and Will jumped, again, in surprise.

"You're awake." Will was greeted by a serious Percy Jackson and, sadly, he had to answer him.

"Yes."

"What do you think?" _Time to improvise again, I guess..._

"Well... Just..." To his mental health and guilt, Percy didn't let him continue.

"We've gone over your numbers and they're all fine. That there wouldn't be a problem for you to walk around now." _That was very helpful indeed..._ However, Will had one more pressing concern.

"Why did I faint?" Percy sighed before replying.

"They said it was the strain."

"Strain?" He repeated, confused.

"That extreme fatigue came in a short amount of time due to severe physical exhaustion."

"Severe... physical exhaustion?" Will couldn't understand what was Percy trying to say here.

"You were in bed for about 2 days." That made Will pay attention, though sadly not to Percy. "There must have been something traumatic." With that phrase, Will's mind immediately traveled back to the moment his watch spun like crazy.

"Yes... it must have been that." He spoke, though not entirely to Percy.

"You should eat lunch with the CEO. He'll be back soon." It sounded more of an order than a suggestion, but Will's mind was somewhere else rather in noticing this slight difference.

"Is the CEO coming?" He repeated, unsure.

"Yes." Percy assured him before gesturing the bathroom. "Some clothes are in the bathroom for you. Then, I'll be going." Percy didn't even wait to Will to add something and left the room, leaving a very confused and a tad desperate Will behind.

_What to do? What am I supposed to do?_ Will scolded himself in his mind, before getting into the bathroom. _Might as well take a bath..._ He convinced himself right after watching the luxury and the spacious place. He also noticed that there was a box with clean underwear, something he appreciated when a thought got into his brain.

_"But isn't that the biggest problem?"_ The voice sounded a lot like Kayla's... which was right as those had been her words! _"Who knows what will happen if you get involved with Nico di Angelo! What if he suddenly forces you and calls you back?!"_

The thought was enough to scare him and go back to the room, searching for something. He immediately found it underneath the pillow, pulling out a gun. A gun Nico di Angelo always kept there.

"Found it." He mumbled, holding the gun in his hands. He immediately began fretting as soon as he got back in the bathroom. "What do I do? What do I do?! What should I do?" He kept repeating, not like that was helping his situation. He heard some footsteps outside the bathroom and knew that, most likely, whoever was coming- most likely Nico -, was going to walk into the room.

That he did.

But Will had a surprise for him.

As soon as the door got opened, Will- eyes closed because he was profoundly embarrassed about what he was doing because he was coming out his comfort zone and because he had no other option at the moment -unceremoniously opened his bathrobe to reveal... absolutely nothing.

Had Will been watching the scene, he would have noticed that Nico wasn't alone, that his right-hand Percy was with him. And he was watching him display his assets. But unlike Nico who simply was a bit surprised and confused about the display- which he hid behind a cool-facade -, Percy turned around and left the room.

It took Will several seconds to open his eyes and by then, Nico had resumed his 'I-don't-care-much' attitude and they were alone. Will began looking around the room, he was desperate to find the '**To Be Continued**' sign.

But nothing.

"You're starting again, Mr. Will Solace." Nico pointed out, sounding a little bored. "What is this? What are you trying to do with me at 11 a.m.?" He even had the nerve to joke and Will didn't want to give him more ammunition.

"No!" Will immediately covered himself, even going so far to tight his robe with his back turned to Nico

"What do you mean?" This time, Nico did sound concerned.

"No! It's nothing!" Will tried again, thinking him he had no choice.

"After you showed everything, what do you mean, no?" Nico wanted to continue joking but the surprise of Will pulling out a gun to him was enough for him to raise his hands.

"Don't come closer." Will told him, watching how Nico's face changed from surprised- not shocked like he wanted -to confusion. He even was taking a step to him! "D-Don't come closer! I'm going to shoot!" _Why I'm stuttering now?!_

"You're truly a man without a logical connection." Nico mentioned, not acting as if he was afraid of the gun Will was holding. "You suddenly appear without logical connection and you slap me, which had no logical connection to anything." He recounted the event that both knew was illogical. "And without logical connections, you forced a kiss on me, and then you go disappear and reappear without logical connections. Now you're stripped of your clothing without logical connections and pointing a gun at me, without logical connections." _Try not to remind me of the last part!_

"Yes." Will agreed, knowing he was completely right. "I know, that you don't understand this situation. If I was you, I wouldn't understand this either. But, it's because I have a situation!" He pleaded at the end, knowing it was really hard to explain- how do you explain a drawing he wasn't real?

"What kind of situation?" Nico pressured into knowing, taking one step closer.

"Don't move!" Will reminded him, kind of freaked out. "I'm going to shoot! I-I-I-I'm not j-joking!" He stuttered again, not meaning to do so, as he was trying to sound firm and not scared. Then Nico dared to smile at him, lowering his arms.

"Then shoot." Will's eyes opened in surprise.

"I said I'm going to shoot! I said I was sorry!" He repeated the more Nico took steps closer to him.

"You say you're going to shoot and you're even worrying about me?" Nico sounded way too cocky for the situation, even taunting, but Will was more scared on actually hurt him than anything else.

"I said that I'm going to shoot!" In a desperate attempt to make Nico back away from him, Will pointed the gun to the ceiling and shot.

But the gun made no sound.

"You need bullets to shot." Nico explained to him as if he was talking to a young child, at the same time that he pulled the gun from Will's trembling hands. "You don't even know that?" Will's expression meant he thought the gun was loaded. "I left you and I watched. I wanted to see what a man would do when he woke up, knowing that there was a gun under the pillow." He continued his explanation, turning his back to Will. Will could hear him doing some noise and his relief was short when he was the one being pointed with a gun now.

"Wha-what are you doing?" _And the stutter is back..._

"I don't like doing this so let's solve it quickly by talking." Nico was serious now. "To be honest, I have about 100 questions. I'll expect you to answer this first question. How did you suddenly disappear that day?" He didn't even give time to the conditions to sink and he was already demanding answers. When Will kept quiet- again, he couldn't tell him he was a drawing! -, Nico took some steps closer to him. "If you don't reply, I'll have to turn you to the police."

"You're too much! When was it that you called me your lifesaver?" Will tried the '_guilt trip_'.

"Of course, you're my lifesaver." Nico's agreement was almost mockery. "That's why I trusted you and let you go. Weren't you, Will Solace, the one that broke the promise first? You didn't answer any of my questions and disappeared. You have to keep your promise now, I waited over two months. Like a gentleman, clean. Don't you agree?" Will kept quiet, still staring at the gun in his hand. "How did you disappear in that room? There should've been a way. If you don't answer, I have to turn you to the police." Nico reminded him, seeing that he was still silent. "Here, if you feel uncomfortable, answer this question. Why did you hit me and kiss me that day? We have a lot of time, let's wait." He added when Will seemed reluctant to share why, putting away the gun from him and getting comfortable himself.

"So that I can disappear." He finally admitted. Will could even hear a level of relief in his voice, but he wasn't going to say so.

"What did you say?"

"I have to do it to disappear."

"What do you have to do?" _He's kidding me, right?_

"Kiss..."

"Kiss?" _Yeah, like you would believe me if I tell you the truth..._

"Yes."

"You have to kiss to disappear."

"Yes." Will nodded at him.

"It's an answer I couldn't even imagine." Nico chuckled, obviously surprised by the answer. "You disappeared that day because you kissed me. That's the way?"

"It's the truth! So please stop, and just let me go!" Will hated to beg, but it seemed like he had only that left.

"Really?"

"Really."

Now, it was Nico the one who had a surprise for Will.

Will watched Nico get up from the spot he had leaned on, walk to him before crossing the entire bathroom and kiss him without any hesitation in the world.

The kiss was short- in all technicality, he couldn't even be considered a kiss, more like a long peck -, but Will was so shocked by this turn of events that he would swear that the kiss was longer than the two seconds it lasted.

And then, Nico had to act cynically to break the moment.

"Why are things the same?" He looked at Will in mockery confusion while taking some steps back. "It's the same." That was enough for Will to regain from the surprise.

"I-I-It's not that I have to kiss every time!" He shouted at him. "It means that there has to be a change in feelings! And in that sense, I kissed you!"

"Feelings... there weren't any good ones that day." Oh, Nico was treating him as if he had five years!

"Even though they're not good... you were surprised right?" Will checked, trying to get things in control.

"Yes, I was surprised."

"That's what I'm saying! There needs to be a change in feelings, surprised or whatever. That's the rule!"

"I think you're surprised right now. Your face is red." Nico teased him with a serious face.

"N-Not me, you!" Will insisted, loudly.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that your feelings are important!"

"What kind of rule is that? Why are my feelings important?"

"Because you're the main character!"

_Oh, damn!_

"Main character? What main character?" Knowing he would have questions about his slip-up- and his wide-open eyes were a deadly giveaway of it -, Will decided to direct this conversation to other grounds.

"You aimed a gun at me! And stuff like this, it's sexual molestation, you know that right?! I'll sue you!" Will didn't believe a word that was coming out of his mouth, but he had to try to make him think about something else.

"Well, the first one to sexually molest me is you. And on top of that, assault!" Will realized that his poor argument could be successfully turned against him and he was even more mortified because of that. "Also, I was conducting a scientific experiment. To prove the theory you insist on." Will kept staring at him, a little scared of what could happen. "Either way, what you're insisting now, is that I have to do something that would make my heart shake, for you to disappear. Is that right?"

"That's right."

"Oh, is that why you slapped me? And just a while ago, stripping off your clothes and trying to shoot the gun, to shock me?" It seemed to Nico that Will's actions made more sense now. _That doesn't say he believes me..._

"Exactly."

"That's unbelievable. I thought you would say something about superpowers or telepathy. But I don't think you're lying." Nico ranted a little bit, looking more relaxed. "And seeing as how you're still here despite the opportunities for you to disappear."

"I'm not lying." Will insisted hands joined in a begging sign.

"But just because you say it isn't a lie won't make it the truth." _There we go..._ "Mr. Solace, you're strangely only talking about the phenomenon. While taking out the truly important, logical connection behind that." And with that statement, Nico took a few steps back before pulling back the barrel of the gun and pointing it back at him, shocking Will to the core.

_W- What is he doing...?_

"There must be a logical connection that's hidden. A logical connection that would make me understand the strange theory that _my_ heart has to, must be shaken for you to disappear. You have to answer that." Nico demanded at him.

"I don't know any more than that!" Will assured him

"Is there a reason you wouldn't know?" Nico smirked before going back to serious. "Answer me before I count to ten. One... Two..."

"I said I don't know!"

"Three... Four..."

"Don't try to scare me! I know you're not going to shoot!"

"Five..."

_**BANG!**_

The sound of the shattering crystal flower vase provoked more than a scream from Will. It attracted more people inside the bathroom.

"What's going on?!" Percy was first through the door, Reyna closed by.

"Stay outside." Nico ordered, not even looking at them, his concentration on Will.

"What's wrong? What are you doing?" Reyna's question was not going to be denied despite her shock at the scene.

"I'm interrogating him instead of the police because you kept nagging about that." Nico's answer could be teasing in a different context but it sounded more like '_See what you made me do?_' kind of accusation. "But Mr. Solace's just teasing me. He's not telling the truth."

"Are you okay?" Reyna asked Will, seeing him freaked out. "Stop it."

"Get out."

"I said stop it! He's still a patient!"

"Get out!" Nico finally lost his patience and began shouting his orders. Percy wisely decided to pull Reyna out of the room before their boss and friend finally lost his mind and thought they were the enemy. Now, uninterrupted, turned back to Will, though his eyes had never left him. "This is how you shoot a gun. This is a very important problem that my life depends on." He went back to the matter in hand. "Even though you're my lifesaver, I can't make any exceptions. Mr. Solace, you're both a benefactor and a much-too dangerous existence. So, if you don't answer, I'm going to shoot." He warned Will. "I left off at five, correct? Six... Seven..." It was then when Will showed a little determination and stood tall in front of him. "How important is that secret that you won't tell me even in front of a gun?"

"There's no reason for you to shoot."

"Eight... Why are you sure that I won't shoot?"

"Because... you're not that kind of person."

"Nine... I thought you knew everything about me, but there are some things you have wrong about me. I'm a person that can do that." At that, Will shook his head in denial.

"There's no way!"

"You're not answering?" Silence followed that question. "Ten."

_**BANG!**_

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, guys!_

_I'm not gonna even start with an excuse of my no-posting these past weeks, mainly cause I don't have one! As a treat, I'll post three chapters today for you, go to vote (that's right, today is a voting day in Argentina, Primaries... so, if you're here and you're old enough and you had your ID, go vote! Every. Vote. Counts!), and then write some more and hopefully post some more before midnight local time._

_Anyway, I also would like you to pay attention to my profile, as I'm gonna post some important Author's Note there. No, it's not about me taking time or anything bad! It's just about something you guys should know I think._

_Here are today's chapters!_

**_Saving Time - A Caleo Story_**_: 1 chapter! I feel this story is coming to an end soon... Even I don't know the ending! Exciting!_

**_Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story_**_: 2 chapters!_

_I hope you guys enjoy today!_  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	9. Episode 3, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 3: Part 3**

* * *

Nico knew from the beginning he walked into the bathroom, he wouldn't hurt Will. He couldn't say the same about being surprised.

True, the stunt when he stripped down in front of him surprised him a little bit, but he was confident the rest of the events would unfold as he thought they would. Even Will threatening him with his gun had been predicted- that's why he pulled out the bullets out of the magazine. Will's answer about why he kissed him was shocking too but he had decided pretty quickly he wasn't lying to him.

Which is why he shot him.

Nico watched as Will checked the area where he was shot- right over his heart. The shock made him moe even slower than normally- he even was trembling, almost going into shock. When he touched his hand over the shot area and pulled it out completely stainless, he finally pulled down the gun.

"Were you startled?" Nico broke the silence with that question. His answer was obvious on Will's face. "I guess you weren't even aware of your abilities." It took two seconds after he stopped talking that Will's eyes rolled in, Nico catching him before he fell to the floor.

He had completely passed out.

"What the hell?" Percy scolded at Nico the moment he rushed into the bathroom, Reyna right behind him, both watching him hold Will.

"Did you shoot? Did you shoot?" Reyna wanted to confirm what her ears told her.

"He was startled, so he fainted. Move him to the room." Nico explained, no leaving room for arguments. Everyone's breaths were soon back in their bodies as Percy grabbed an unconscious Will on his arms.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing?" It was Reyna's turn to scold him, both her and Percy frowning at their boss.

"The intention was to scare him but I accidentally shot." Nico justified himself. Percy didn't waste more time and took Will to the room as he had been instructed while Reyna had parting words for her friend.

Especially when said friend was teasing her with scratching his forehead with the muzzle of the gun and smirking!

"You're crazy... You're completely crazy!"

Nico let her go, with a though more important in his mind. He directly walked to the mirror in the bathroom to see that, embedded in the mirror, was the bullet that went _through_ Will.

This just became more complicated.

Sadly for him, Nico was also the head of an important company and while the mystery of how Will Solace was affecting and placing his life upside down was both fascinating and intriguing enough to solve, he had other obligations to attend. As he was preparing his luggage for his next trip, Reyna walked in to be heard.

"Did you call the nurse?" Nico began, not losing focus on his task. Cause folding clothes for a trip is so fascinating...

"Didn't I tell you a while ago to hand him off to the police?" Reyna demanded to know. "Did you take her just to do gangster-like things like this? Are you a gangster? Why are you threatening a person with a gun? What's wrong with you?" Nico smirked at Reyna's rapid-fired questions before answering her.

"Isn't that what you wanted? A thorough investigation." Reyna, however, wasn't willing to play games now.

"Hand her off to the police right now."

"Not the police."

"I can't just stand around like this. We will hand him to the police, and if the police can't figure out then our team can investigate again. Even if it's frustrating, that's the correct process." Now, Nico was getting frustrated by her and fully turned to see her. "Why are you making things more complicated? You don't know what they're going to say later-"

"I told you, not the police." He interrupted her, literally taking her phone away. "If we hand him off to the police, we can never solve this. I already told you. Will Solace is the key to my life." He insisted at the end before giving Reyna her cellphone back. "Change my flight to nighttime. I have to stop by Boston."

Sometimes, reminding Reyna who was the boss wasn't fun.

* * *

Will was awake by the time the nurse came.

While the woman worked, he was slightly non-responsive but helpful as he allowed to be taken his pressure. His eyes simply were staring the distance, between all and no thoughts on his head.

"Are you awake?" Will heard Nico walk into the room and he shared a look with him before he directed himself to the nurse, while Will used the moment to look away from him. "How is he?"

"I gave him a sedative, and his blood pressure is normal." The nurse informed him, earning a charming and nodding Nico.

"Then please excuse us for a moment." Nico asked though it was obvious that it was an order.

"Yes." Will didn't make any gesture the second he heard the nurse leaving the room and Nico took her place on the chair next to his bed.

"Are you mad at me?" Nico filled the silence, making Will to look at him.

"Am I mad at you?" Will repeated, not believing his ears. Nico at least had the decency to show a little of remorse. "It's not something you can describe as being mad. You _shot_ a person with a gun!"

"I'm sorry for shocking you." Nico apologized to him. This time, he did look sincere. "Truthfully, I already knew that you won't die even after getting shot." That got Will's attention. "Why do you not know?" Will frowned, not understanding. "You are invulnerable, right? A person who can never die." Nico continued as if he wanted confirmation. To Will, that sounded unbelievable. _I can't die here...? That could come in handy..._ "You didn't know?" Nico checked with him.

"How do you know that?" Will wanted to be sure of that fact but Nico was in his '_I'll-help-you-if-you-help-me_' attitude.

"If you answer my question first, I will tell you." Will simply kept staring at Nico while he talked. "Since we proved it to each other, let's cooly accept that you aren't just some normal human. Will Solace, you are probably from another world, right? Another world that I'm unaware of." While Nico ranted about what he knew or didn't, Will simply looked at him. _How would he react when he realizes that is like that- except a little crueler...?_ "In that world, you are working as a cardiothoracic resident in Fieldston Hospital. Am I right?" Nico suddenly pulled out Will's hospital ID from a pocket and showed it to him before placing it in bed next to him. "Where is that place?" Will sighed and looked away, though Nico didn't look so disappointed. "Anyways, I am relieved." Nico continued after his negative. "I checked with my own eyes that you can't just disappear on your will, like last time. If everything is up to me, there is no way for you to escape." Will refused to even look at him. "You know me well, right? If I decide to do something, I never waver." Nico reminded him. "That is my specialty. That's how I won a gold medal at the Olympics." He tried to joke at the end, but Will was still staring at him. "So you can't go back before you answer all of my questions. For the time being, we will stay together here. You _are_ my lifesaver, so I will protect you from the police and the media. It doesn't matter how long you stay. But if you want to return, you just have to answer my question." He informed him, serious on the last part. "You seem to have many surprising answers, so if you tell me the truth and I'm shocked, you can go back. I will find the answer I'm looking for. How does it sound? It seems like a fair trade. If you want to go back, surprise me. What kind of world do you live in?" Will closed his eyes and winced, looking away. _He's not gonna give up, is he...?_ "You told me that you know everything and seen everything about me. Where did you see it?" Finally, Nico realized that Will was in no sharing mood- a bit dense of him, as Will was portraying that since he walked into the room. "Is it hard to answer?"

"It is." Will finally spoke to him.

"Then we will live together here. I don't mind. There is a lot of time." Nico nodded in agreement.

"You are telling me to live here?" Will checked with him.

"Then, do you have a place to go if I set you free?" Nico teased him before earning a look that said '_what do you think?_'. "It feels like you have nowhere to go." Will looked away again, hearing how someone knocked on the door and walked in without warning.

"It's ready." Percy's voice announced, obviously to Nico.

"I was planning to eat lunch with you before my business trip, but I have to go to Boston suddenly for work." Will could hear some regret in his voice but didn't turn to see him. "Let's eat after I come back. I will be back on Friday. Until then, my secretary will be here. Oh!" He pulled out his phone from his pocket and handed it to him. "This is the phone that you left behind last time. If something happens, call me." Will reached for it, silently, before being presented with Nico's stretched hand. "This is an act of reconciliation. An apology for what I did just now." After glancing at him, Will sighed and held his hand but didn't shake it, though Nico kept it there a moment longer. "I'm sincerely sorry." This time, he did look sincere. "Then rest well." Nico dropped his hand and got up to leave.

"I love you." Will blurted out before either man could leave the room. Percy, again, couldn't look more shocked but Nico simply looked at him, almost pouting. After a few seconds of watching and waiting and nothing seemed to appear out of thin air, Will gave up. "Never mind." He mumbled, laying back in bed.

"Oh, that's right. You must have thought that I would be shocked if I see you nude." _Oh, and now he teases_ _me!_ "For my heart to beat out of my chest, fluttering unable to see straight or something?" He even placed his hand on his heart, dramatically.

"No, I just thought maybe it will work." Will admitted, ashamed of even thinking it might work.

"You know that you are quite odd, don't you."

"I do." That last made Nico chuckle.

"Take care. Let's go." He told Percy before leaving the room. _Lord above, that was sooooo embarrassing!_ Suddenly, a thought came to Will and he was dressing as fast as he could before catching Nico by the elevator. "Wait a moment."

"What is it?" Nico asked him.

"You said that you are going somewhere right now, right?" Will corroborated, serious.

"I'm stopping by Boston and going to Seoul. Why do you ask?" Nico informed him, nodding.

"Be careful."

"Do I die on the way there? Does my train go off the track? Does my plane gets attacked by terrorists?" Nico questioned him, rapidly.

"I don't know. Just..."

"You must not know how I die at this time." Nico finally stated, realizing what he meant to say.

"If I am here, I don't know. So I can't help you."

"And you can find out over there?"

"Yes."

"I'm getting more curious." Nico admitted, stepping out of the elevator. "You don't answer any of my questions, but why are you worried that I will die?"

"I am a person who wishes your life to be a happy ending." It was written in Nico's face that it was not the answer he was expecting. "I am your fan. Really." Will smiled at him, nodding.

"Are you saying that if I hear your answer, I will become miserable?"

"Probably. So I can't answer you. And you are the first patient that I saved with my own hands."

"Really? I'm honored."

"And you are my second patient."

"I am more honored."

"That's why you must be careful." Will reminded him after their little touch-and-go conversation.

"I will." Nico promised. "Oh, you will answer questions like this, right? How old are you?"

"I'm thirty years old."

"We are the same age. Are you married?" _Why does he care...?_

"No."

"That's good." The added wink at the end did nothing to stop the confusion in Will but he wasn't complaining about it.

Only later, much later, would Will find out the reason of why he was the only one who could be summoned to the manhwa world.

And it was all because of Nico di Angelo's words that labeled him '_the key of his life_'.

At that point, the main love story of this manhwa changed from Reyna Ramirez-Arellano to Will Solace.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, guys!_

_I'm not gonna even start with an excuse of my no-posting these past weeks, mainly cause I don't have one! As a treat, I'll post three chapters today for you, go to vote (that's right, today is a voting day in Argentina, Primaries... so, if you're here and you're old enough and you had your ID, go vote! Every. Vote. Counts!), and then write some more and hopefully post some more before midnight local time._

_Anyway, I also would like you to pay attention to my profile, as I'm gonna post some important Author's Note there. No, it's not about me taking time or anything bad! It's just about something you guys should know I think._

_Here are today's chapters!_

**_Saving Time - A Caleo Story_**_: 1 chapter! I feel this story is coming to an end soon... Even I don't know the ending! Exciting!_

**_Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story_**_: 2 chapters!_

_I hope you guys enjoy today!_  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	10. Episode 4, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 4: Part 1**

* * *

A trip New York-Boston was relatively short for someone like Nico di Angelo.

With his mind distracted by many things at once- but the main one being back in his own home -, Nico wasted no time heading towards the nearest truck stop control spot in the state. He knew his appointment would be there.

And there, shouting in all his glory with his phone on his hand, was Poseidon Jackson, Hades di Angelo's brother and best friend, Percy's father and Nico's Director of the Crime Investigation Program in the '**W**' show.

"Why did you come all the way here? They all hate you here." Poseidon reprimanded his nephew lightly, almost as if he was joking. Nico, dutifully, chuckled.

"Why?"

"Because it's embarrassing." Poseidon explained to him as if he didn't know. "They've been on a case where their employer was attacked for over 2 months and they don't have anything to show, how would they face you?" He spelled the situation, serious. "Everyone's ready to write a resignation letter, including me!"

"You're cutting ahead so I can't say anything!" Nico smirked at his uncle, friendly wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm being honest." Poseidon argued. "I think we're at a dead-end for this one too. There isn't a single trace! We got the CCTV footage of the route where the truck came in. But nothing's gone through! I'm saying there's a ghost involved or something!" Poseidon was out of his mind trying to help his nephew but was slightly helpless.

"Is that so?" Nico acted as if he was surprised.

"Ah! What happened with Will Solace?" Poseidon surprised him, making Nico take off his sunglasses to look at him.

"Reyna said something, didn't she?" _She can't keep quiet...?_

"It's because we lost that man that we're at a dead-end! You know well enough that our side and the police are all looking for him. Why'd you hide him?" Nico took a deep breath before answering his worried uncle.

"He's in a position where he can't reveal his identity so I'm protecting him." He said, trying not to cause more questions. But that was unsuccessful.

"So _why_ can't he reveal his identity? And _why_ are you protecting him? What kind of relationship do the two of you have?" That last one surprised Nico again.

"What?"

"I saw the video that was filmed at the department store. It seemed pretty serious!" Poseidon gave his nephew a look that clearly said 'you've been hiding this from me and I have every right to know about it'. Nico decided to tease his uncle, smirking again.

"You saw that too? Darn it!" The tone of his voice was a bit dramatic. Poseidon though, saw this as his entry to talk like every worried parent in the world.

"Secretary Ramirez-Arellano seemed mad."

"She probably was."

"I was waiting, thinking about when the two of you would get married but what's this out of nowhere-!" He confessed to his nephew, slightly upset. This only made Nico chuckle. Reyna and I? No way... "There aren't many women who can match Secretary Ramirez-Arellano. Then again, I'm old fashioned. What would I know about that? The two of you handle that on your own. Either way, I need a reason. You can't be hiding anything from me!" Poseidon ended up warning his nephew.

"That's actually why I came. I needed to tell you something." Nico turned serious and Poseidon imitated him. "That nurse. The one who switched the needles on me."

"That woman's still arguing that she doesn't know anything." Poseidon told him, also serious. "To be honest, it's a little weird. She doesn't have any motives to kill you. Why would a dedicated nurse suddenly do that? This case doesn't have anything that adds up. Everything's such a fog." He finished, almost crossing his arms like a pouting child.

"Everything should be covered in fog. Since there's no logical connection." Nico began his explanation. An explanation and theory that began to make even more sense since talking to Will. Seeing his uncle's confused face, Nico explained further.

"Everything that happens to me these days has no logical connection. I was stabbed without any logical connection. Then through a woman who suddenly appeared without any logical connection, I survived. I almost died by a truck speeding in without any logical connection, and now it disappeared into thin air without any logical connection." That made Nico remind his uncle of something that happened two months ago. "I told you once before, that it was the same way on the day I was stabbed. I do remember that it was a call saying they knew the real culprit who killed my family. But I don't remember who it was and why I believed those words." He took a deep breath and confessed something.

"lt was a dangerous meeting but I don't know why I left my bodyguard behind. In a situation like that, I could only be stabbed. On that day, I was so lax with my actions, it was like I was setting myself up for death. What's weird is that I can't remember why I did that." Out of his memory, Nico looked at his uncle. "It's with that nurse too. The woman who tried to kill me _can't remember_ why she tried to kill me. And the truck too. It appeared out of nowhere. There wasn't a license plate. I looked at the driver's seat and didn't see any attempt to avoid me. A person almost died after getting hit but it didn't even stop and just drove away. On top of that, it's disappeared like smoke in thin air from here." He gestured the truck stop. "Everything that happens to me these days is just like this. Without any logical connection. Murder needs to have a motive and a culprit but those aren't there either. Just like back then, 10 years ago." Poseidon knew this topic was still sensitive with his nephew and wisely didn't say anything.

"During that time, we desperately searched everywhere, hoping to find a clue." It was this the part of the rant when you could hear Nico's desperation and frustration on his voice. "How much have we put into this up to now? We even bought a broadcasting company. The only reason I made the program was to have a legal justification. In reality, it's headquarters for our investigation. I've already invested over several hundred million dollars into this. But what results has it shown? Of course, they've solved cases other than this. The probability of arrest of suspects in criminal cases identified by the investigators is 99%. And thanks to that, I'm undeservingly being treated like a hero. But... but we can't find a single clue on the bastard we have to find. We don't even know his motives, the possibility that he's a psychopath is very slim. We don't have a single hair, a single witness. For 10 years at that too!" Poseidon decided to intervene before his nephew began shouting.

"So what?" What he didn't expect was that Nico passed from almost passionate shouting... to seemingly accepting calm.

"I'm starting to have thoughts like this these days... What if the person we're searching so hard for, is living in a different dimension? What if that's why we won't be able to find him even if we spent our whole lives trying."

"What are you saying?" Poseidon needed confirmation of the craziness his nephew was saying. "What, that the culprit is an alien?"

"He _could_ be an alien!" Again, Nico decided to tease his uncle with his smirking face.

"What?" Even Nico had to chuckle at the look of disbelief his uncle was showing.

"But not the alien we're thinking of. Their faces are just like ours, everything is just like us. For example, like Mr. Will Solace." It was obvious that Poseidon was very lost in that explanation. "That man knows everything about me, it's like he's been looking down at me from the sky. Down to the inner thoughts, I've never told anyone." That worried Poseidon.

"How can he know that?!"

"Who knows?" Nico recognized, upset that he hasn't gotten the truth out of him yet. "It is fortunate that he has good intentions towards me. He tries to save me."

"How?"

"I wonder." Nico admitted. "But I think there's someone there who is hostile towards me too. The bastard who's fabricating all these incidents without logical connections, the one who's dying to kill me."

"Who's that?!"

"I don't know. But this time, I've come to know this for certain. That all of this is that bastard's doing." Not wanting to worry his uncle anymore, Nico had to pull a smirk out of nowhere. "Is this absurd?"

"You think?!" Poseidon's face said it all.

"Your perspective might change if you see a man that's completely fine after being shot in the heart." That got Poseidon's attention. "I'm positive that Will Solace is the key to my life. The only being that will open the door of secrets."

And this time, he would get his answers.

* * *

Meanwhile, Will was finding himself wanting a different set of answers.

People- either hotel workers or Nico's employees -kept walking into his room with boxes and bags of many different things. Oh, Will could identify what were those bags and boxes about, but he needed confirmation that he wasn't in some kind of weird dream.

"What is all of this?"

"The clothes, shoes, accessories, and cosmetics. Everything you might need." One woman- Will suspected she was the housekeeper -informed him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Or at least, as if she had done it several times before him!

"Are you saying this is all mine?" Will double checked before freaking out. "W-When would I be able to use all this?" _I don't even own cosmetics in my real life! I barely have facial hair to shave!_

"The CEO ordered that we prepare everything to an ample amount. If you have specific preferences, please feel free to tell us." Upon that 'explanation', Will only had one word.

"Wow..." _Back then, that suit was over $2600..._ Eyeing everything that was in front of him, Will took a few bags in his hands to look. _Then how much is that all worth? Several tens of thousands? No, a couple of hundred thousand dollars?_ His thoughts were interrupted when the housekeeper started to take things out of his hands. "Oh my! What?" He asked, surprised.

"I was helping you..." The woman explained herself but Will didn't want to bother her.

"It's fine, I can do it alone." He assured her. "You can stay outside." He tried to dismiss her so he could change clothes. His mother had raised a gentleman and he wasn't stopping now.

"I was told to be in charge of attending you from now on." That did stop Will.

"Attend me? You are going to attend me?" He repeated to her while the woman simply nodded.

"Yes."

"Should I help you...?" The woman offered, seeing that Will was heading to the bathroom. _Really, woman?_

"I'm fine. I can do it." The woman finally got the hint and nodded, allowing Will to change his clothes in the bathroom. He didn't take long as he didn't want anyone walking in and start thinking he was strange... or at least, more than he was already behaving. Once in front of the mirror, Will sighed and began to smother his suit when someone began doing it for him from behind, making him jump in surprise.

"I will be finished soon." The woman assured him.

"I'm okay. I feel uncomfortable, so I'll do it." Will reassured her, his hands passing faster over his suit.

"CEO di Angelo likes feminine people." That made Will look at the woman, confused.

"What does that mean? Why do I have to suit CEO di Angelo's style?" Will tried to keep out the accusation of his voice, but the shock was there for everyone to hear.

"Are you not his fiancée?"

_W-w-w- what?!_

"What?"

"I heard you were his fiancée."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Okay then." With that, the woman got out of the room, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. "What the hell?!" _**W** is an action-hero genre. But why is it over and over like this? Like a romantic drama._ Taking a deep breath, Will found speaking to himself through the mirror. "Making my heart flutter..." _Wait, what?!_

"The CEO is calling you." The housekeeper walked into the room again, the phone Nico had left him on her hands.

"Really?

"Yes." Will nodded in thanks and took the phone, waiting for the housekeeper to leave before answering.

"Hello?"

_"What are you doing?"_ Will's whole cool persona crushed down in the first sentence. _My heart's racing just from his voice! "Are you okay about staying there? I'm calling because I don't think I'll be able to call until tomorrow. Is everything fine?" _Deciding to get answers, Will went for the kill

"Why...did I become your fiancée?"

_"Workers who go in and out of my house will think it's weird. It's not like I can say that I'm imprisoning you, either. Are you mad?"_

"Not really..." Will found himself admitting.

_"Will the situation turn complicated if your girlfriend finds out?"_

"I don't have a girlfriend." Unknown to Will, Nico di Angelo passed from being relaxed on his private plane's seat to being sit up straight and completely interested.

_"You don't have a girlfriend? How'd that happen?"_

"Do I _have_ to have a girlfriend?" Will counterattacked, raising an eyebrow. An eyebrow that Nico couldn't see.

_"It's not that, but a person like you has more than enough charm. Why don't you have a girlfriend?"_

"Are you making fun?" Will accused him. "You said that if I'm a beauty than anyone else can be."

_"You might not be a beauty, but for sure you're very charming. How can I say this...A positively idiotic kind of charm?"_ Noticing this was slightly childish, Will simply took a deep breath. _"Hello? Are you mad?"_ Nico added after Will hadn't answered in a while. _"I was joking about the 'idiotic charm' part."_

"It's not that I'm mad... I really am psychotically idiotic for my heart to race even at those words." That made Nico chuckle. "Don't laugh! For even imprisoning a person aren't you having too much fun?"

_"If you want to go home, you can call me anytime. You know, right? Goodnight."_

"I love you!" Will tried one more time.

_"You know that those words don't work on me."_

"I already know. You said that I'm full of charms, so I wanted to try. As I expected, it didn't work." Will justified his words with that, disappointed that it hadn't worked.

_"Goodnight."_ With that, Nico hung up and Will started to scold himself for using the same trick again.

"You psycho-! Seriously?!"

However, he ignored what Nico was thinking seconds after hanging up. Had he known, he would be inclined to try it one more time.

Successfully this time.

* * *

After hanging up off the phone with Nico, Will decided to explore around.

"So this is what a penthouse looks like!" He had of course seen the penthouse through the manhwa and the pictures that were used as reference but there was something different in actually being there, admiring it. "Wow, it's nice." It was as if seeing a house in a catalog and then, visit the house for the first time. He then stopped to make some calculations, making him gasp at the end. "It's already been four days..." _How many days passed over there? Five minutes? Thirty minutes? What should I do? I'm already about to get used to this place. How do I go back? _His musing was interrupted by the entrance of Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. "Oh my!"

"You're here." She addressed him, a little bit restrained but Will didn't notice that. Little did Will imagine what Reyna was thinking.

"Yes."

"What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep so I'm just..."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"If you are feeling fine, do you want to have a glass of wine?"

"Wine?"

"Yes. You looked bored all day."

"It is a bit boring."

"Come out." Will followed Reyna out the penthouse only to find with two guards on the other side of the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Just up here." Reyna answered the guards.

"What about the CEO?" It was obvious the guard had specific instructions.

"It's right upstairs. It doesn't matter. We're just going to have a glass of wine." Reyna replied to him. "Let's go together." She added to appease him. She took Will to the restaurant on the next floor and started to make conversation to the starstruck man. "You must have family members."

"Yes."

"Aren't they waiting for you? CEO di Angelo is being selfish, and keeping you here..."

"They probably don't know yet." Will's reply only made Reyna more curious.

"It's already been two days though."

"I...I've been uh... given up on by my parents so..." Will chuckled softly, congratulating himself that he managed to think fast.

"I promised to video call someone." Reyna reminded herself, looking at Will. "Go first, it'll take only 5 minutes." Will nodded in understanding. "Lead him in." Reyna ordered the guard that had walked with them.

Neither he or Will understood but they did he did continued to walk into the restaurant, Will too amazed by the place to notice something. He was guided into a table and he just sat there, looking around in wonder. _It's pretty. There are some perks to this. When will I ever come to a place like this?_ He saw the guard who accompanied him to get a call and going outside for a few minutes to answer it.

That was when everything came crashing down.

"This is a party of two, right?" A waiter came to set the menu but Will ignored him in favor of the view.

"Yes."

"Perhaps, aren't you that man?" That made Will look away from the view and to the waiter. "The doctor who saved CEO di Angelo on the roof when he was stabbed!" It took two seconds to Will to realize he was talking to the same waiter that had helped him back when Nico was dying on the roof! "You are, aren't you?" The waiter didn't wait for Will's acknowledgment. He continued talking. "We were looking for you so hard, but you suddenly disappeared. The police were looking for you, too. Did you not know? You were also on the news... Why are you here just now?" _Time to improvise again!_

"Ah... I didn't know it was there. So it was there, on the roof!" He stammered a little bit. _Yeah, that would fool him..._

"Hold on." The waiter left, obviously to pass on the news of who was in the hotel but Will was already panicking.

_What to do? What do I do?_ Without thinking it twice, Will disappeared from the restaurant and down the service stairs and into the kitchen, deciding to let the news of his discovery being known by calling the only person that might be able to help him now.

* * *

"What is it? What do you want to confess now?" Nico's carefree voice answered the phone as soon as he saw Will's name on it.

_"What should I do? I think I'm going to be captured by the police!"_ That was not what Nico had in mind.

"The police? Why?"

_"Secretary Ramirez-Arellano..." Reyna, what did you do now...? "Where do I have to go? What should I do? I can't be captured by the police!"_ Advising Will to calm down didn't seem to be a viable option as he was panicking.

"I can't let that happen either." Nico assured him, serious. "Where are you right now?"

_"I'm going down the emergency stairs. Any ideas?"_

"Calm down, and buy some time while hiding somewhere. Until I grasp the situation."

_"I'm on the 28th floor."_

"I'll call you." With that, Nico hung up on him, quickly making another call.

"What's the matter?" Ignoring Percy, Nico realized it was time to scold some people.

"I told you to watch him. What were you doing?" He admonished the guard that answered the phone.

_"Secretary Ramirez-Arellano said that it was your orders."_ He justified himself. Knowing that yelling at him was useless, he began giving out orders.

"Go to the 28th floor. He's probably hiding somewhere around the guest rooms. Help him."

_"Yes, I understand."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Will was trying to look inconspicuous while moving through the hallways, though his luck was about to run out.

"It's that guy, Will Solace!"

"He's over there!"

Running away from the voices behind him, Will ignored everyone and everything until someone shouted his name differently.

"Mr. Will Solace!" In a dead-end hallway, one of Nico's guards was getting his attention. He could see him communicating with someone and he ran in his direction. When he heard voices behind him and knew that he would be caught because of the lack of places where to hide, Will thought quickly and looking down at his hand, threw his phone inside the open room, deciding that getting caught by the police was better than to incriminate Nico in this.

"Come with us." The police officers caught up with him and 'guided' him out the hotel.

This was bad.

* * *

The waiting was killing Nico.

So, he decided to call Will to see what was going on.

"Where are you?" Though, Will's voice didn't answer him.

_"CEO, it's me. I'm sorry. Mr. Will Solace was caught." Those are bad news..._

"Then why do you have his phone?"

_"He secretly threw it to me before he got caught. I don't think she'll say what happened in the penthouse."_ Nico didn't wait for anything more before hanging up.

"What exactly is happening?" Percy saw the face on his cousin and boss and got worried.

"Reyna caused a problem."

"What?"

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, my fellow readers!_

_These past weeks had been soooooooo busy and long! I apologize for not posting last weekend but I was completely exhausted for some reason... _

_Anyway! This week's update!_

_**Saving Time - A Caleo Story**: 1 chapter! Getting closer to the end! I can feel it!_

_**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**: 1 chapter! Thanks for the support of this story, brings me lots of joy!_

_**Garden Wall** (collab with my friend **ReeReeWithAngst**): 1 chapter! We are one chapter away from the end! I'm sure to post it next Sunday!_

_I hope you enjoy this weekend and I'll see you next!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	11. Episode 4, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 4: Part 2**

* * *

_"This is breaking news. The identity of the sole witness for J&Global's CEO Nico di Angelo's assault case, which occurred last May, has been acquired. After the incident several months ago, there have been all kinds of theories and rumors floating around. Will the answers to the case be found this time? Nico di Angelo's assault case's suspect, Mr. Solace, has been identified. Mr. Solace who claimed to be a doctor was known as the only witness at the time of the incident. However, as time passed, the possibility of him being a strong suspect is also getting higher."_

* * *

Will was exhausted and upset.

After being taken away from the hotel, the detective assigned to the case had gone for several hours asking him simple things about his life. In the beginning, he was answering with honesty. It didn't pass the first question that whatever came out of his mouth would be considered nothing but a lie. He was now laying down on a cell with other men.

Part of him was as if he was losing hope, that he finally understood what was so bad about breaking the law. That was the part of him that seemed to be winning.

"Mr. Will Solace..." A voice pulled him out of his muses and he stood up to greet someone who, at the moment, he was having mixed feelings about.

Reyna Ramirez-Arellano.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry things happened this way. This is the best that I could do in my situation." She ignored his question. Immediately, Will lost all hope. She didn't sound very sorry about it. She had been behind all it, he just didn't want to believe it. "It was concerning how much CEO Nico di Angelo was ignoring the police. We can't endlessly cover for you, Will Solace." Reyna was not here to help him, she was here to ease her conscience, that was obvious. "It just doesn't make sense, living together with the suspect, without even knowing who you are. If you just cooperate with the investigation with what you know, we'll take care of the rest. However, we can't help you right now. How can the victim help the suspect? You need to be cleared first. Please reveal your identity and tell us everything you witnessed. Then after that, we'll give you a lawyer or whatever you need."

Desperate, Will tried one last trick without revealing anything about himself.

"Even if I want to reveal it, I have no identity to reveal."

"What person on this earth exists with no identity?"

"I don't have one. I seriously don't have one." Will insisted just seconds before being left alone.

Alone with his thoughts again.

* * *

_"At the end of an overnight investigation, the police see that it is fully possible that he was instigated to commit murder or he is an accomplice. They have decided to detain him, fearing he is a flight risk or will destroy evidence. Solace was admitted to a New York jail this morning. The incident victim, J&Global's CEO Nico di Angelo, is currently on a business trip to South Korea."_

* * *

_**4 days later...**_

"I apologize."

Nico didn't want to hear any more apologies from anyone. The last fours days had been brutal as he had to go through businesses while his mind wanted to rush back to New York to fix Reyna's disaster. However, he was in South Korea for business and he had to complete them.

As soon as he landed, he had been mobbed by reporters and he had to pull his charming personality to avoid any more rumors. But once he was inside his car with his people, all masks were out

"Let's stop by the police station first." He ordered the driver, but his employee had more bad news.

"Will Solace was imprisoned today."

"Where?"

"The New York Detention Center." Bad memories were shaken away quickly before he could think clearly.

"They are all as fast as lightning when they got the wrong lead!" He couldn't help himself to say, not blaming his guards in that.

"It's Secretary Ramirez-Arellano." Percy informed him, seeing his phone. "She texted me saying you keep not picking up her calls." Nico didn't waste more time and grabbed his cousin's phone and immediately dialed to the last message's number.

"_Hello? What about CEO di Angelo?_" Reyna's voice came from the other side of the line and Nico had to keep his game face.

"It's me."

"_Oh, CEO, have you arrived? They're all waiting right now._" Reyna was in a meeting and Nico couldn't tell if she was happy or faking it.

"I'm going to the Detention Center first. Tell them to just leave." He stated, leaving no room for arguments. He heard Reyna apologize with the people there and walk to a more secluded place before giving him a piece of her mind.

"_The lawyers are unable to find a loophole too. If he gets arrested now, we have nothing to say. He won't make any statements._" It was obvious by Reyna's voice that she was annoyed by this and didn't want to talk about it.

But they were gonna.

"That's why I protected him- because he can't make any statements. But you sent her to the death trap!"

"_That's not my fault._" She tried to defend herself. "_If he's a faultless citizen, why can't he reveal his identity? He's unable to say anything and staying silent. Isn't the answer obvious? Will Solace is not a witness, she's a suspect._" It was more than obvious that Reyna had taken her side of the argument and Nico felt a pang of hurt upon realizing what she was doing. "_For some reason, he pretended to save you and he approached you again with a purpose. And you fell for his unbelievable words._" The last part was said in a tone closer to a '_why you never listen to me? I know what's better for you!_'

"My life almost shattered for the same type of reasons. Have you forgotten?" Low blow, he knew it, but Reyna was leaving him any more option but to be direct. "I was the victim of that too. They said that it didn't make sense. They asked why I went to school at that time instead of watching soccer. They said I was stuttering because I had nothing to say. In that short moment, I was turned from the victim to the culprit. The same will probably happen to Will Solace." Sighing, Nico tried to calm down, a bit unsuccessfully. "Because it doesn't make any sense. No one looks at the context and they only see the external appearance. And they think that _that's_ what makes sense."

"Nico-"

"You say that you've acted logically." Nico interrupted her, not even want to listen to excuses. "But what you've done is completely missing Will Solace's context. That man threw my phone when he was about to be arrested because even at that moment, he didn't want me to face any consequences. His identity isn't what's important to him. If you understand the nature behind his actions, how could you possibly corner him as a suspect? I started this business to help people who were sacrificed by logic, like me! But standing by me, you've made yet another sacrificial lamb! That's why you have no right to be my secretary. Just be my friend. You're fired."

The conversation died there and then, mainly because Reyna had been left with nothing to say or defend her actions- or maybe she had been too shocked by Nico's reaction that she had been left speechless.

On the other side of the line, things were as silent as well. Nico didn't see it, but Percy was looking at him as if he didn't know how bad this could turn. Hearing Nico speaking, he had an idea of what Reyna had done and what had made Nico snap at her.

Either way, as much as it had pained him, Nico now had other things to care about.

* * *

"4205!" Will heard, trying not to think where he was. However, the voice was insistent. "4205!" _Oh, that's me!_

"Yes!" He acknowledged, getting up from his spot before being guided to the visit cubicles. On the other side of one of them, waiting for him, was Nico. He immediately felt flooded with emotions, Will couldn't explain why. He sat down on his chair and waited, looking down.

"I'm sorry for being too late." Nico apologized to him. "Going and coming right back, it still takes 2 days. How are you doing?"

"It's hot." He started as if it was finally dawning to him where he was.

"Oh yes. It is hot, isn't it." Nico's try to make casual talk was a bit awkward. "I've been here for a while so I know too. I spent 4 seasons here, but summer was so hot I almost cursed." Will didn't notice but Nico's eyes were glued on him. He was seeing him crumbling down. "Is it hard?"

"No..." He lied to him but didn't last much. "Yes! This is so absurd!" He snapped, trying to keep it together. "I really can't adapt to this! This kind of stuff only happens in the movies! I never imagined I'd ever end up at a place like this. I'm just a normal middle-class citizen!"

"Normal middle-class citizens come here." Nico had let him rant his piece before imparting some knowledge. "There aren't many people who come here knowing they'll end up here. One day, suddenly, they realize they're sitting in a solitary cell in prison." He reminisced before getting to business. "Listen well. The situation at hand is bleak. I have nothing to justify helping you and it only gets worse from here. Attempted murder, aiding and abetting. Along with the illegal medical treatment and investigating whether you were an accomplice. For any and every reason, you'll be investigated, again and again, then you'll have face-to-face questioning, then trials, then more investigations and another trial. There won't be an end. That's how your life will be ruined."

_If the point was to scare me, mission accomplished!_

"Those people have already decided in their hearts that you're the culprit. They've grown weary over 2 you _have_ to be the culprit. They'll do anything to make it true. You'll have to face contempt, fear, and they'll destroy your mental state. And that could go on for a few weeks, months, years, I don't know. And after you've been through that entire process, it isn't easy to go back to living as a normal middle-class citizen. So answer my question now." Will looked down again, knowing exactly what was Nico asking. "I believe what you said is true. So from now on, that's the only way you can escape from what comes at you. Answering my question. Then disappearing from here." There was a long pause before he continued. "Mr. Will Solace, where are you from?" A lone tear rolled down Will's cheek.

"If I disappear right now..." Will began stalling for some time, some alternative that could make him not to ask again. Surprisingly to him, he was relatively calm when speaking again. "...there will be a riot."

"You're probably right." Nico agreed with him, smirking. "But there's no need for you to worry about that. Because when you disappear and go home, that's it for you. I'll get the rest of everything under control here. Because this is the world _I_ live in." Nico reassured him, but Will wasn't so sure to share the answer. "Answer me."

"I can't. I told you that you'll be unhappy!" He reminded him.

"I... don't really think I'm that _happy_ right now either." Nico admitted, surprising Will. "I can't sleep well because I don't know when I might die." _Oh, he meant that..._ "You know that. Does it not matter to you if you're stuck here forever? Be it 10 years or 20?"

"No."

"Answer me, we don't have much time." Nico hurried him, checking his watch.

"I don't know what might happen either!"

"What's happened has happened! Look where we are!" There was a short stare down before Nico kept going. "Where is it that you live?" It was there and then that Will saw Nico was not going to give up about this.

"New York."

"The same New York. But what's different?"

"I live there. And you live here."

"But how do you know everything about me when I'm not there?" _Why am I surprised you're insisting in knowing the truth...?_ "You said you saw everything about me. Where did you see anything about me?"

"I think I'd rather do a nude show." Will joked, making both of them chuckle softly.

"I told you, your nudity doesn't work on me." He followed the joke for a second. "Answer me."

"You'll regret it." He warned him.

"I won't regret. What exactly is the world you live in?"

"It's a manhwa." Will mumbled, looking down and hoping he couldn't listen.

"What? Are you saying that you're from a manhwa?" _Bad luck..._

"No."

"Then?"

"It's this place." Still looking down, Will missed Nico's face as he was slowly realizing what the man behind the glass was telling him.

"What are you...?"

"I'm saying..." Will finally looked up, ready to face whatever was coming. "...that this _is_ the manhwa. The manhwa that I read. And you... You're the main character of that manhwa."

The shock was there to see and Will didn't need to ask about it, Nico's feelings had changed as the words '**To Be Continued**' glowed on his left side. With one last glance, Will began to disappear in front of Nico, leaving behind more questions than answers.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening, my fellow readers!_

_A little later than usual, but I'm here to deliver! I hope you are enjoying this first Sunday of September... Despite reading and writing a lot of demigod stories, I'm sure that not only me was waiting till the last minute to get their Hogwarts' letter? I'm still waiting for that day! I'm only upset I couldn't be with the hoards of muggleborns in King's Cross! So jealous!_

_Anyway! This week's update!_

_**Between Two Worlds - A Solangelo Story**: 1 chapter! Thanks for the support of this story, brings me lots of joy!_

_**Garden Wall** (collab with my friend **ReeReeWithAngst**): 1 chapter! Last chapter! I hope you guys had liked it!_

_I hope you enjoy this weekend and I'll see you next!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	12. Episode 4, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 4: Part 3**

* * *

It took Will some seconds to see that he was back in the real world.

"Big Bro! Big Bro Will!" Kayla's voice was heard but Will was in a 'I don't care' state. "Will-!" Kayla tripped over with the curb, calming her exuberance for a second. Will didn't even pay attention to her, especially when she moved her hand in front of his vacant stare. "Big Bro. B-Bro...Don't tell me! You _actually_ went to prison!" She almost shrieked when she noticed the outfit. It was then when Will looked in her direction. "Really?! No, it's a lie! A joke! It's a lie!" She looked like she was about to cry over that revelation.

But Will didn't care anymore.

Kayla immediately took command of the situation and got Will to the nearest gas station bathroom so he could change into some less conspicuous clothes that she bought on the way. After he changed and got in Kayla's car, Will started half-listen to what Kayla was explaining.

"It's only been 30 minutes! We were having a phone call and then you suddenly disappeared. A woman found your things and I rushed there to get them. She then confirmed that there was no one in the bus station. As I was looking for clues about you, Travis called me about a new uploaded chapter. He warned me that it was really weird... he couldn't explain it. I seriously thought you lost your mind when I saw the scenes! Anyway, when I reached the end of the manhwa, I saw you appear in my mirror..."

_That was only thirty minutes..._ Will though, though his body could not function very well. He was tired and Kayla kept talking

"So it was 10 o'clock when you disappeared while I was talking to you and it was ten-thirty when you've returned. But if you count this in the manhwa, you spent three days in the penthouse, three days in the police station, a day in the prison. Overall, you stayed a week in there." She counted while driving. "Does that make sense?"

"Kayla, I'm _really_ tired because the detectives didn't let me sleep." Will told her, using his elbow to lay down on the car's door, his eyes closed. "I remember every single day." He admitted, sighing deeply. "My body is tired, I guess it's right that I spent a week there."

"How? How can that happen?" Kayla wondered, a little scared.

"Prison is seriously not a suitable place to stay." Will stated, serious. "I couldn't last a day. So..."

"So?" Kayla pressured the answer. "You told everything to Nico di Angelo? So you can get out?"

"What did I do?" It was then that Will realized the enormity of his problem. If you could call it a problem. "What should we do now?" He turned to Kayla.

"I don't know.

"What should we do?"

"I don't know." Kayla repeated, both trying not to panic. "It will be alright."

Will, meanwhile, was dividing his time between thinking what to do and the guilt he felt about the whole situation.

_How was Nico coping with it...?_

* * *

Nico di Angelo was _trying_ to cope with it.

He was listening to how one of the officers scold a younger one because of the disappearance of the prisoner. In any different situation, he would think the guard was not doing his or her job but in this case... in this case, he was in need to agree.

"He disappeared in front of my eyes. She just disappeared.

"What nonsense are you saying, punk?!"

"It's true. He just vanished into thin air. She's not sitting in there talking."

"What happened?" Percy broke his stare into nothing. Which was great cause his brain was actually not working properly. Or completely. "How did he escaped?"

Nico wasn't in the sharing mode. But he knew that this wasn't going to escape the news. What he didn't know it was who and the consequences of this information coming out.

* * *

_"This is breaking news. The sole witness of J&Global's CEO Nico di Angelo assault case that occurred last May, Mr. Solace, escaped from New York Detention Center earlier at 2 p.m. It is been reported that no detail of the incident has been revealed but Mr. Solace escaped from the visiting room. It so happens that this occurred while CEO di Angelo was meeting Mr. Solace in the visiting room after returning from police are currently searching within a 5-meter radius of the detention center."_

* * *

"Dad?" Will called as soon as he walked into his home.

"He didn't come back." Kayla told him, walking right behind him. "He's probably drunk and passed out somewhere. It's a pretty normal thing when we work." Will was not convinced by Kayla's relaxed answer. "Big Bro. Let's just end it." She announced as if she had a big idea.

"What?"

"The end. We can just fix the file and upload it." Kayla continued. "Finish the W at this point. Then you don't have to go back in anymore." Will looked unsure at that suggestion. "You are a fugitive there. If you go back in, you will get shot by the police or have to spend the rest of your life in prison and come out as a grandma. What are you going to do then? What are you going to do?" She was getting worked up the more she explained herself.

"If we end this, what about Nico di Angelo?" Will began, hesitantly. "What's going to happen to Nico di Angelo?"

"Is Nico di Angelo the problem right now? A living person should be _the_ problem." Kayla argued back. "We all are about to be taken to the mental hospital. You are worried about a manhwa character during this time?" Will had to admit it was a silly thought but he couldn't help himself. "Anyway, the editorial department will make a fuss. So let's send it as though the teacher fixed it." Kayla rambled away while turning her computer on. "I don't have the confidence to explain this. Anyway, we will complete it and the teacher can resolve this. Right now, this is the best way."

Will was still not convinced.

* * *

"Yes. We will probably have to stay here until the situation clears up." Nico heard Percy talking over the phone while they wondering around the detention center. Thanks to Will's escapade, all exits were closed in the eventuality to catch him. "He is not talking."

Of course that Nico wasn't talking.

The revelations that Will had mentioned were ludicrous! However, several stances about how Will had been behaving started to come back into his memory. He had discarded them as quirks of him but he realized now they were slips of him. Slips made out of not thinking properly, as he claimed he could not know the truth. That the truth would make him sad and miserable.

He was right after all.

It all made sense now. A scary and ludicrous sense.

And he was wishing he didn't know it.

"I think it will take some time." Percy's voice brought him back from his thinking before handing the phone to him. "Take this call." He stood there, immobile until Percy slapped his back. "CEO di Angelo. What's wrong?" The worry in his cousin's eyes was real.

"Who is it?" Nico managed to ask.

"It's the Director." Nico took a deep breath and some steps away from his cousin before answering to his Uncle. Percy understood and gave him space.

"Yes, sir?"

_"What happened? I heard he disappeared when he was with you?"_

"Yes." _What was the point of lying...? Percy must have told him already..._

_"Is it like the things that you've told me that day? Based on your words, he didn't escape but went to another dimension."_

"Probably, that's right."

_"How could that be..."_ Nico could hear his Uncle ready to rant. _"How is that possible? This is a huge incident. You know that Zeus Olympia has continuously been waiting for an opportunity."_ He reminded him. _"He will be determined to get you. Next year is the presidential election. It's obvious that he's going to insist you've created this whole scenario."_

"He probably will." Nico agreed with him, taking another deep breath. "But Zeus Olympia is not the problem."

_"What?"_

"That kind of thing doesn't matter." He repeated. "The reason for my existence. That's the real problem."

_"Did you hear something from Will Solace?"_

"I heard." He confessed.

_"About what?"_

"A completely crazy story." He couldn't still wrap his mind around it. "I was right about the first impression of that man. A psycho. A crazy man." _You don't even believe that lie, old pal..._ "She said complete nonsense." _Who are you trying to convince, buddy...?_

_"But why are you paying attention to that nonsense?"_

"But everything that could not be explained in my life... If I fit them together according to Will Solace's nonsense, all of those things make sense."

_"What?"_

"Things that had no logical connection suddenly have a connection. A logical connection that can explain everything." He explained, serious.

_"What is that connection?"_ Nico wanted to chuckle at his Uncle's question but he didn't have the strength no and was focusing on believing the story himself.

"This, seriously... I never imagined something like this."

_"What is it?"_

"This world..."He had to stop for a second, looking around. "This world... is all fake." He finally said it out loud. "It's a completely fabricated world."

The second the words came out of his mouth, Nico could see how the world around him, the world he had been living all his life, where he had fulfilled several dreams and nightmares were coming to a stop. People around him that were in running had stopped literal stop as if they were mannequins or cardboard figures.

He seemed to be the only thing mobile.

"Cousin? Cousin." He called Percy while running towards him, who was still in his position. Nico saw him as frozen but alive.

_What was this...?_

* * *

Meanwhile, Will was watching as Kayla was fixing the ending of the manhwa.

"The end." Kayla announced, looking at him. "'_We are ending it here, because of a writer's personal reason. Thank you for your support for all this time._' This should be fine, right?" She practiced her speech to him. "We will get hundreds of thousands of angry people. What can we do? We have to do it." She justified herself to Will, who hadn't said a word yet. Silently, Will waked to the window while Kayla wrote the finishing email. "Huh? What's this?! What is happening?! What is happening?!" Will rushed back to her side, only to find a hysteric Kayla and a blank screen. "Why did it become like this? Oh? Why did it become like this? Why is it like this?"

* * *

At the same time, Nico was wondering around the detention center.

Everyone else except for him was frozen in their places. The shock was enormous to Nico, who began to panic. Was he alone now...? He had finally realized the lie, that he was the only one whose time hadn't stopped inside the manhwa. That this was a manhwa, that he was not real. But why could he still move? Was this some sort of punishment for being the only person that knew the truth?

While musing over this, something began to appear to his side. Nico saw how a vibrant and what seemed to be invisible screen appeared out of nowhere. He walked towards it and noticed that it seemed to be made of water, a weird sensation and a question to all the rules of logic he knew. Of course, he himself was breaking the rules of logic.

With nothing else to lose, Nico bravely placed his hand through it, not much. The screen lighted up and, as soon as his hand was out, he could see that same effect he had seen when Will disappeared from the visitation center. That simple act unlocked a memory from the day of his attack, two months ago.

He had seen this screen before and his bloody hand had gone through it... bringing back Will Solace along. He had been responsible for his appearance in his life! That only meant... that Will's world was behind the screen. Making his decision, Nico grabbed one gun from the nearest frozen officer and crossed the screen.

Seconds later, Nico found himself in an unknown rooftop, looking down at New York City. Making his mind up, Nico decided to find more about this.

And the truth of his existence.


	13. Episode 5, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 5: Part 1**

* * *

It was raining heavily.

But that didn't seem to mind to Nico.

His clothes were soaking wet, just like his hair and skin. People that passed him by were looking at him as if he was insane, getting wet in this rain like this. But Nico wasn't really paying attention to all of that. Nothing seemed to get his attention until he glanced to the side of the road and saw it.

An advertisement of his life story.

It was displayed on the side of a bus and Nico felt some kind of pull towards it. Ignoring the busy street, the running cars, the loud honks and the shouts from the drivers, Nico walked staggeringly but directly towards the image.

It was a drawing of himself, smirking while pointing at the watcher with a gun. Obviously, the gun must have pointed at someone else that wasn't relevant for the publicity but Nico's sight was transfixed onto himself.

If the crossing dimensions hadn't convinced him yet, the image in front of him was doing a pretty convincing case that Will Solace was right.

After pulling himself together, Nico walked until finding the first open book store he could. He walked in to see people around that had been either compelled to see some books by curiosity and those who had decided to search refuge from the rain for a few minutes. Nico ignored all those and wandered until he found what he was looking for.

It was in a corner of the store, under the label of '_COMICS_'. Banners adorned around the table destined only for it and people of all ages, from school students to curious couples were picking the volumes up to check it out. The image was powerful enough to show the popularity of it.

Adorning the covers of 33 volumes of manhwas, it was him.

Nico didn't want to believe Will's admission. Yes, his explanation fitted all the illogical things that had happened in his life but seeing in person how this was all real, was a real punch into the guts. He remained static for a few minutes, trying to assimilate everything before grabbing the first volume.

He stared at it for a few seconds. It was him again, pointing a gun towards the reader, while his face showed the seriousness of the situation while a big stylish '**W**' was depicted as the only title. Without a care in the world, Nico ripped the plastic cover of the manhwa and opened it.

The first page of the manhwa was dedicated to the characters. He was there too, along with some information like his place and year of birth. Reyna was also there, with the label of '_Female Lead_'. His cousin Percy and his Uncle Poseidon were also described there, vaguely in comparison with him and Reyna but that only gave credibility to Will's admission.

Turning the pages, Nico saw the most important events of his life, like Athens 2004's Olympic Games; when he found his family dead on his home; when he was interrogated by Zeus Olympia and the trial against him. He could almost hear the voices telling the story in his head.

He also saw things he hadn't known the first time around. The thought that Zeus Olympia had about him weren't exactly hidden but to see them there was alarming, his planning was shocking. His actions- Nico's actions -actions that were calculated to help him were nothing more than a decision made by someone else.

Even his encounter with his cousin was staged! Their training, their bonding, their trust rebuilt, the thugs both of them had taken to justice... the more he read, the more he was in disbelief.

The scenes showed exactly how things had gone down. Nico was finally seeing himself as Will had all those years. He went volume after volume, seeing how the events of his life had turned in what it seemed to be a good storytelling to have more sales. All his sufferings were done to sell more?

His catatonic state on the floor led the manager of the store to check on him.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you okay?" She asked politely. When Nico didn't reply, she pressed softly. "Our business is done for today. We have to close." Nico didn't even bother to open his eyes, he didn't care what time was it.

"Does this book sell well?" He wondered to her.

"Pardon me?"

"Is it popular?" He repeated himself, pointing at the manhwas he had opened. The woman's smile almost answered for itself, not that he was looking at her.

"Yes, of course. It's been a bestseller for over five years." _Five- five years...?_ Nico chuckled softly, almost in a dejectedly way.

"I see. That's... interesting." He finally got up from the floor and began walking out of the store when the manager stopped him.

"We'll put it in a bag for you! Just wait a moment." She offered him seeing the opened volumes around him. However, Nico continued to walk outside.

"I don't need it. It's a story I'm familiar with."

* * *

Realizing that hovering over Kayla was useless for now, Will returned to the hospital.

However, there was little to do there, which found him sitting in front of the computer revising the last chapter of '**W**'. The chapter he had been in.

'_I think I'm going to falter if I hear that one more time._' Will read Nico's own admission from his lips- well, not directly from his lips -and wondered if he could avoid all the mess she had left behind by just saying those words. His mind took him back to that moment in the bathroom when Nico took the initiative and kissed him. Why was he thinking about that moment...?

The phone ringing cut his muses short. Jumping up, he answered.

"Hello? How did it go?"

_"I tried calling someone to fix it, but there's nothing wrong with it."_ Kayla's voice came out immediately. _"There's no cause for it. There is no problem with the server, either..."_ Will sighed, not knowing what else to do. _"Big Bro, nothing's going on, right?"_

"I'm at the hospital." He admitted, taking a seat back down again.

_"I just came out of the workroom. It's so scary staying there alone like the house is possessed."_ Kayla recognized to him. _"I'm going to go back in after Master gets back."_ He explained.

"Okay, do that." Will agreed before hanging up the call. As if it had been synchronized, Katie walked into the resting room.

"Doctor Solace, room #3 is ready for you." She informed him.

"Okay." Will acknowledged to her, making sure that his screen had been locked before leaving the resting room. He began to get ready for the scheduled procedure when Lee came to him, a little confused.

"Hey Will Solace, you!" Will turned his face to see Lee, who was rubbing his back hair in nervousness. "Did you perhaps get engaged?"

"_Engaged_? What are you saying out of the blue?" Will argued with him, looking as surprised as he was.

"Well, someone came looking for you, saying that he is your fiancé."

"_Fiancé_?" Will repeated, keeping his confused tone. "Who?"

"I don't know. He didn't say his name, just said that you'd know if I tell you he is your fiancé." Lee relied on the message that was passed to him but to Will made absolutely no sense.

"What? I guess they confused me with someone else." He suggested, going back to his preparation tasks.

"It's not, right?" Lee insisted and Will sighed deeply.

"Whom would I get engaged? There needs to be _someone_ in order for me to get engaged." He used logic on his friend, who seemed to agree with his explanation.

"Yeah, right. Right. There needs to be someone. What's with that guy? Was he drunk? Do well, anyway." Lee told him in the end, leaving him to deal with whoever was claiming it was his fiancé. Will sighed, getting ready for the procedure when a lightbulb went on in his brain.

There was someone who had claimed to be his fiancé but... couldn't be, right?

_No... that can't be possible... can it?_

He immediately followed Lee outside the surgery area to find him talking to a tall, thin man dressed completely in black. The back of the mysterious man was in front of Will and Will could see Lee's reactions while speaking to him.

_No... it can't- how...?_

"I think you were mistaken. You came here for the wrong person."

"Lee." Will called him, earning both Lee and the guy's attention. Will's heart got the shock of his life when the ever-dramatic Nico di Angelo looked and smirked at him.

"Do you _really_ know each other?" Will recognized the question coming out of Lee's lips but his brain was not functioning properly. He doubted it would ever function properly again.

"Yes." Nico's confident reply was enough to shock more than one, especially when he walked to Will and took his hand before leading him out of the hospital. Obviously, Will continued to be in some kind of catatonic state but followed him out like an obedient puppy. Once outside, Nico smiled at him. "Are you doing well?" Will stared at him in silence so Nico spoke again. "I was curious about the aftermath of the jailbreak. You look good."

"How... Did I get dragged in again?" Will finally found his vocal cords, the worry growing in his tone before ranting to himself. "No, I didn't, it can't be. This is our hospital. Lee is here too!"

"I came." Nico admitted to the still shocked Will. "I came here- to your world."

"How? H-How?" Will stammered.

"The world that I lived in stopped." Nico explained.

"What did you say?"

"It all stopped. Except for me." Nico explained to him. Part of Will was blaming himself for being part of it. The other part was trying to still process how he was there, standing in front of him! "So I came out, leaving everything. I don't know why I'm the only one living, but according to you, I'm the main it's the main character's special privilege." _I'm not sure that's true but I won't interrupt you..._ "I'm here after reading all 33 parts of the '**W**' series, with all the cash that I had on me, and I understand now how Will Solace knew so well how I lived. You were probably a die-hard fan while watching over me for seven years." _Is he scolding me for knowing about him...?_ "Do you know how much I am regretting now? I should've listened to your warning back there, Will." Will didn't have the strength of mind to say '_I told you so_'. "The truth was something unimaginable. I should have listened to you then. Your silence back there, Will. I now understand how much consideration you had for me in doing so. That's why I came. Because I wanted to say my last farewell to you." _Wait, what?_ "Thank you so much for doing your best to show as much consideration for me as possible. You are a really good person, and you have a right to become a good doctor."

Will couldn't find words to say to him. He just kept staring at him, confusion and surprised written all over his face. However, Will did notice that Nico's face showed determination and some peace. Maybe he had come to accept his reality...? His phone ringing put a halt on his thoughts.

_"Doctor Solace, Professor Alcepius is here now."_

"Okay, I'll be right there." Will answered, before staring back at Nico.

"I guess it's busy. Go back in." He resolved the conflict for him.

"Are you going somewhere?" Will finally asked him something. "Where are you going? Just wait here." He asked of him. "It's not a big surgery, so it will be over quickly. Alright? Don't do anything, and just stay here. Wait for me, and think of me as your guardian." He ordered him, making Nico chuckle.

"Are you imitating me right now?"

"No, you don't have anything right now. You don't have money, or a house, or an ID. I know how hopeless you feel right now." He pointed out to him. "But in this world, _I'm_ a real doctor, and even though it can't be compared to you, I have money and a house. So, just trust me and wait until I come back out. Stay right here. And don't go anywhere." He repeated at the end, making sure he understood. "Okay? Listen to me, please." Nico sighed and nodded to him with a small smile, acknowledging his words. "It won't take long. It'll be over in about 40 minutes."

Thinking that it was all and they could have a word later, Will began to head back in, only to be stopped by Nico grabbing his arm. Spinning him around, the surprise resident Doctor found himself being kissed by the same man just mere hours ago was thinking about. However, the difference between those previous times and this one was that even if Will was shocked in the beginning, both parties immediately embraced it and enjoyed it, no matter how short it felt.

It took a moment for Will to realize that it was over. By then, Nico was an arm-length away from him and Will had to blink and composed himself to not stutter or even show his unproportionate blush- though he didn't hide his delight.

"Why are you like this?" He wondered to him, curious.

"If I were to tell you how I feel after reading all the comic books, my misery multiplied about 99 times, but there's one good thing about that." Nico confessed, honest as usual. "It felt as if I was always the only one at a disadvantage, but I also saw your feelings too." Now I'm easy to read... "So, it's best not to say things you don't mean while trying to be coy." Will smiled softly and nodded in agreement.

"Wait here." Will reminded him when he saw another call coming in from his phone. "Meanwhile, if something happens, look for Lee Fletcher of the Thoracic Surgery Department. He will help you if you say you are my friend. Okay?"

"That friend from earlier?" Nico recalled the second he saw Will walking away. "He acted a bit tough when I told him I was your fiancé. He's not your boyfriend, is he?" He asked cheekily.

"No, he's not." Will was about to leave it like that when decided on a cheeky answer himself. "Besides, you asked me if I had a _girlfriend_, not a boyfriend." He smirked before rushing back to the surgery. He didn't know what he feared more now.

What Nico di Angelo might do in his absence.

Or what Professor Alscepius would say about his lateness.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening!_


	14. Episode 5, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 5: Part 2**

* * *

While Will was being scolded by his professor during surgery, Nico found himself in a different place.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. A quick look into an online directory did the trick and all he had to do now was to get there. Walking seemed to be his only option, all his money was spent by paying for the manhwas he opened at the store. Once he got there, only to be polite, he rang the doorbell.

He was at Apollo Solace's home.

However, Nico's patience was running short today so he decided that a little hit and entrance would do the trick. He jumped the fence- a fence as tall as he was -and walked to the backyard's door, breaking the glass of it to get in. It was quite noisy and Nico was surprised to realize no one of the neighbors were calling for 911. Better in my favor...

As soon as he got in, he got greeted by the sight that was Kayla, Travis and Connor's working desks. Their computers and their researches along with some notes. Also, the windows were covered with drawings as reference for the artists. Copies of manhwas were stacked around the house, by the walls, making the place feel even tinier that it was. The walls also were covered in framed art and certifications and awards that were won.

Nico could see his face all around. It was a little disturbing as if he had walked into the house of a stalker. Though this was not the case. He took one of the storybooks that were laid on the table and began to flip it, seeing common backgrounds of his life and the things he owned.

It was getting more and more disturbing with each finding.

He headed to the main room, he actually barged in as if he wanted to catch someone doing the dirty work. The room was in the same state as the rest of the house: covered in manhwas, art reference along with a desk. The first thing that caught his attention in this room was the art that was tapped to the window.

Images of Percy and Reyna and him himself's different expressions were in full display there.

The more he saw, the more distressed he would get.

He turned to the desk, but it was a mess of papers and things. Only the owner of the mess could find anything there but Nico wasn't anything but persistent. He finally set his eyes on an open sketchbook that displayed different expressions of himself. His face had been drawn in different sizes as if the artist had been practicing angles or perspective. Of course, nothing of this was registering in Nico's mind.

He could only see more evidence that he was not real.

In an attack of anger, he made even a bigger mess of the desk by throwing its things around, including the lamp he had turned on a few minutes ago. He was desperate, he was nothing. He was no one. It was in that desperation that he looked up to the opposite wall, a wall he hadn't seen yet as it was the owner's personal sleeping space. Nico staggered towards the wall, where he could see four framed photographies.

In all of them was a man that could only be the owner of the house, Apollo Solace. He was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and little chubby face. He seemed to like wearing shirts as he was wearing one in every single picture. He also wore glasses, reading glasses, each picture showing the evolution of them. It didn't fit his face but Nico was not concentrated in that. What he was concentrated on was in who was accompanying Solace on the pictures.

The four pictures alone would have told four different stories but the four together in the same wall showed the growth of a person who was familiar and loved by Solace. It showed the growth of a young little boy that was remarkably similar to him in physical appearance but not totally. There was a blood relationship there. The photographies showed four stages of the same young boy growing up, from his elementary school years... to his entrance to medical school.

There, in all its glory, it was showed that Will was Apollo's son.

Nico didn't understand it. First of all, how could he miss it? Solace was not a common last name, not a lot of people could be named like that. Secondly, Will's actions didn't match what his father was trying to do. It was obvious that Apollo had been who had been drawing the manhwa since the beginning, he was the one with the idea of something happening to him.

However, Will had been dragged into his world and, while there, tried to do his best to keep him safe.

What was the truth?

* * *

Will had reached the limit of the day.

Not only Nico di Angelo had appeared out of nowhere to her world- making him a _real-life_ person -and was waiting for him outside but his professor had decided to let out a huge rant about how he, Will Solace, was a cesspool young man and how Will Solace, the manhwa character- who he believed they were two different identities, one modeled after the other one -, was also a cesspool character.

"Also, because I'm already talking about it, pointlessly because of it, the stress is not a joke." Will paid attention to Professor Alscepious. "Why is your dad being like this, really? I mean, why did your dad suddenly put in a ridiculous romance in the middle of searching for the culprit? What is this! He even forgot what kind of genre his work belongs to!"

"Can't that happen?" Will asked innocently, making the rest of the people in the surgery room who weren't '_paying_' attention to actually pay attention.

"What did you say?"

"How can a person just be working? I think that's more unrealistic. A hero can also fall in love!" Will reasoned. "No matter how important revenge is, there can be times where love goes beyond that. Nico di Angelo is also human!"

"Are you acting up right now because I just called out your father?" Alscespius argued with him.

"No." Was Will's quick reply, lowering his head.

"Also, what kind of love is that? That's only flirting." Will looked up in surprise. Had he been flirting with Nico di Angelo? "In you guys' term, flirting is what's going on between Nico di Angelo and the cesspool boy that has the same name as you!"

"It could be love, too!" Will defended himself. Well, his manhwa self. "Why are you defining that it's '_not love_'? How does that look as just flirting to you? I don't see it that way." Will continued before his professor could say anything.

"Hey... What's been done?" His professor counter attacked. "Nico di Angelo hasn't said anything. Has he said he loved him before?"

"Well, must he actually say it aloud?" That simple statement seemed to light up a bulb into his professor and the accusations came faster than lighting.

"Then what do you know? What do _you_ know?"

"Even though I know... I won't tell you." Will stood firm, finally realizing his own feelings. Though he was not gonna tell his professor that!

"Huh? It can't be! Our Nico di Angelo and that cesspool man aren't getting together, right? No way! That's going crazy! This can never happen!" _Hello, 21st Century making a call to Antique Alcepious! It can!_

"Why? Why is that going crazy? This could happen." Will justified it. _It wasn't a bad idea..._

"Hey! Does that make sense? It'd be normal to marry Reyna Ramirez-Arellano!"

"Why not? Why does he have to get married to Reyna Ramirez-Arellano?" Will felt a small pang of jealousy in his heart and tried to keep it at bay.

"Hey, they've been together since high school. It makes sense for the story to end with them getting married."

"No! Does not!" Will snapped. "Does it say somewhere that you have to get married to someone that's always next to you? Why do you think Nico di Angelo likes Reyna Ramirez-Arellano?" He questioned his professor, not even giving him time to reply. "Ah... That's right. It's certain that Reyna Ramirez-Arellano has a one-sided love since it came out many times. But! There had never been a scene that shows Nico di Angelo thinks of Reyna Ramirez-Arellano as more than a friend. I remember everything!" Will ranted, getting angry.

"Must you know that with words, with words?" Alscepius came at him again. "Even without it being said it's naturally supposed to work out that way, idiot." Did he just call me idiot?! "Can you just see that? Then he should confess, kiss her and end it there! That's the formula!"

"There's no formula with love!" Will was crossing the anger line and his voice began to raise a little. "Why do you interpret Nico di Angelo your own way, when you don't even know him that well? Nico di Angelo likes me! I'm sure of it!"

This looked more like a panel between two opposite fans inside a fan convention than two highly educated people, one of them being a surgeon while the other one training to be one. It was obvious for the outsider listeners that they were talking about the manhwa, but Will was having an internal struggle between defending the manhwa's 'new' direction and defending himself from his bully professor.

And Will's slip let him know he couldn't find the line between those.

"Doctor Solace." Katie had kept quiet during the argument but decided to say something before the shocked professor. "You said that Nico di Angelo likes _you_?"

"No, no... You know my character in '**W**' has the same name as me..." Will covered himself. "Professor, I'm sorry, but I have a really urgent situation." Will decided to retreat while winning before he could slip something like that again. "Can you scold me more about my _medical training_ again later?" He added the snarky comment at the end, leaving a full room of surprised people.

_Nico is really a bad influence to me..._ Will concluded, rushing outside, to the last place he had left Nico. Once he finally was outside, Nico was nowhere in sight. _Where did he go? I told him to stay here..._ He began searching the entire hospital, maybe he had gone cold or hungry and decided to stay inside. He searched and searched all over, but no hints of Nico.

_Where could he be...?_

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening!_

_Short chapter this week, I know... but I began to feel ill the past Friday and I had no strength into finishing this chapter. My plan was to finish with a beautiful cliffhanger (if any of you had seen the dorama, will know what I'm talking about wink wink) but my condition didn't allow it. Also, I'm in the middle of my great-uncle 86th birthday and people are moving around in the house so this is all I can give you today... I hope you can forgive me for this time, as is better than nothing._

_See you guys next week!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	15. Episode 5, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 5: Part 3**

* * *

Nico didn't know how long was he waiting.

All he knew was that, at some point, someone had walked through the door. The person lighted up the rooms and took their time. The sound of shuffling feet could be heard, that person was moving. Nico doubted it was Will, he was still in the hospital and the house looked abandoned before he showed up. That only left one alternative.

"Writer Apollo Solace?" He spoke up. The person in front of him didn't expect for someone to appear in his own house and much less coming out of the shadows as if he just had transported himself from it. Nico held the look of incredulity from Apollo, who was very surprised.

What neither realized was that Will, whom Apollo had managed to call before being surprised, was hearing everything that was going on.

"H- h-" Nico simply watched as Apollo tried to stutter some kind of reply.

"As expected it was you." Nico decided to try to keep his cool while talking. "I thought it would be you." Apollo kept staring at Nico, speechless. "We've already met a few times. You remember, right?" This time, the face of Apollo showed a little disgust. "Come out over here because we have a lot to talk about." He suggested to him, a little strongly, while he leaned on the closest desk.

"How..." Apollo managed to have one word out.

"How did I come into this world, you ask?" Nico completed his sentence with a little smirk. "You should explain that to me since they say you created me." The defiance that Apollo showed before disappeared and showed the shock again. "I said, come over here. Have a seat." He even pulled out a chair for the shocked cartoonist. Nico saw how Apollo moved slowly as if he feared to get closer.

However, at the last minute, Apollo grabbed a box cutter that was in one of the desks and attacked Nico. Nico didn't waste time and simply got out of the way and grabbed his wrist, barely twisting his arm.

"Ah! AH!" The small defense movement was painful for Apollo, who was quickly subdued. Nico turned him around and held him by the back of his neck and against the desk, a small hint of fury appearing on his features. Despite the contrary, Nico felt no pleasure in doing so. Apollo struggled and started to grab things from the desk with his free hand that began to throw at Nico, who simply got out of the way.

In the end, with a desperation scream, Apollo managed to grab a pair of scissors and showed his intentions of stabbing Nico right there and then. Nico simply stopped him or moved out of the way. However, when he saw that he wouldn't stop, Nico grabbed the concealed gun he had stolen from a police officer of his world and hit Apollo with the handle of it, effectively sending him to the floor but not leaving him unconscious.

"Get up." Nico ordered at him, grabbing the front of his clothes and pulling him up before forcing him onto the chair he had laid out. And, to show he was serious, he pulled his gun onto Apollo's face. "You should thank your son. I'm treating you nicely for Will's sake. Because while you were so crazy about trying to kill me, your son put in all her effort to save me."

* * *

"Hello?"

_"Kayla, where are you right now?"_

"I'm in the neighborhood game room. I'm trying to kill some time."

_"Hurry and go to the workshop. I think something's going to happen."_

"What will?"

_"Nico di Angelo. Nico di Angelo, went to Dad."_

"What? Wha... What does that mean?"

_"Nico di Angelo is here right now. I said he's with Dad right now."_

"I mean... What does that... Nico di Angelo is here?!"

_"I said run to the workshop this instant! Tell Nico di Angelo to wait and that I'll be there. I have something to say, so _please_ tell him to not do anything and just wait. Got it?"_

"Hello, Big Bro. It's that... Big Bro? Nico di Angelo, Nico di Angelo is here? Why did he come here?"

* * *

"You're bleeding." Nico pointed out to Apollo, smirking. "I guess you're not invincible here. You're just a normal human being that hurts and bleeds, too." The more he talked, the more Apollo kept quiet and the more angry Nico would get. "This is normal. This way it's fair. I was always the only one who bled, died, and was done wrong to." Apollo moved in his seat, uncomfortable.

"The first person I grabbed unconsciously, wasn't Will. It was you." Nico reminded him, almost glaring at him. "The person who gave me the critical injury wasn't that bastard, but it was you. And then your daughter appeared and saved me. No one knew that two culprits stabbed me." He explained to him, still serious, ignoring that his voice was heard by Will, who hadn't hung up. "I kept my mouth shut because there was no evidence, but I knew intuitively that the man who wanted to kill me for no logical reason was you, although I had no idea what kind of existence you were back then."

Looking around the room, Nico continued his rant.

"I guess you created me here while moving around those measly fingers of yours. You probably deliberated on how to kill me here, since after finally earning your taste of money, honor, and success, you didn't need me anymore. You created me, abused me, and made my life a living rollercoaster. In return, you succeeded and received recognition. Now, you want to kill me by stabbing with a knife, injecting poison, and hitting me with a truck. And because drawing them wasn't enough, you held a knife in your own hands and stabbed me yourself, cold-heartedly and mercilessly, even when I pleaded for you to save me." Seeing that Apollo wasn't saying anything, Nico decided to try one more time. "While I was here, I found out more about you. How famous you are, that just by typing in your name the Internet was flooded with information about you." That got a reaction from him, a small facial one.

"Apollo Solace was an incompetent head of the family. He was a no-name man-waste until after the age of 50. A human being with no self-determination, who cannot live without alcohol. You were drenched with inferiority, a losing mentality seeped into your bones. On top of that, you are now old." A hint of shame was spread around Apollo's face. "So you created me, someone who was young, successful, wealthy, and famous. A person with determination like no other. Someone who was the complete opposite of you. A strong person." Nico had to chuckle at the end. "You even named me Nico di Angelo. That's what it said in the news article. You found vicarious happiness through me, an escape from reality."

"But that didn't last long either." Nico continued, looking at him. "Your wife couldn't take it anymore and left. You quickly hit a wall and were devastated. You were that kind of a guy from the beginning." He looked at him, eying him while talking. "A lump of inferiority with low-self confidence who quickly falls even with something very minor. So you killed me off." The anger was again in Nico's voice. "Different from your original plan, you didn't even dare to kill me yourself, yet you did it to me because I was the only thing you had control over in the entire world." Nico tried not to growl at the end. His voice went back to a control narrative sound. "From that moment on, something was very strange. I kept dreaming the same nightmare: drowning to death in the Hudson River." He snorted at the thought. "I wondered why that was, but it was that I really have died at that time, before you capriciously saved me, once again!"

"I didn't save you." Finally, a reaction with words came from Apollo. "You were the one that persisted on." Nico looked at him, confused. "I killed you there. But you were the one who endured. Putting on a tantrum to be saved. So I let you live because my heart went soft. Because I had affection for you at the time." Apollo recalled before glaring at him, serious. "That was the problem. Starting from that moment was when you turned into a monster. Like now."

That was only the beginning of Apollo's rant and both he and Nico were unaware that Nico wasn't Apollo's only audience.

"Yeah, you're right! I gave everything to you! All of the things that I've ever wanted, I gave them all to you! But what happened? With the brain I gave you, you tried to know about this world! Does that make sense? You're just a measly drawing! Not even a person! You kept bothering me, and eventually, you even showed yourself here!" He ended up shouting at him. "At first, I thought I was crazy, and even went to see a psychiatrist. Even though I talked to my friends, no one believed me. I was so scared that I even tried running away. I couldn't... because of Will." Nico could see a modicum of shame in his face while he talked. "I didn't do anything for him while he grew up. So I told myself to bear with it just a little longer. Anyway, people liked it, and it made money. If I earned just a bit more I could open his own practice for him, and I could assure he spends a lifetime without ever worrying about money."

* * *

On the other side of the phone, Will heard the conversation with fascination and surprised. He had yet to interject, not that they would have realized he was listening. So, while he was riding the taxi back to his childhood home, he contented with listening.

* * *

"Do you think you're the only one who had nightmares?" Apollo accused Nico as if he was the only victim around. "I also had nightmares every single day! A nightmare that you would come see me like this. Although it was hell to drag you this far, I persisted with the hope and joy that the end wasn't far. The hope that I wouldn't have to draw you once it ended. But, you didn't die again and dragged me and even Will in. So, I stabbed you with a knife because I thought there would be no end to this damned curse. You are an illusion. You're nothing!" Apollo began to scream at Nico, who was staring at him with disgust and fascination.

"You're just a character I created! But, why are you here in front of me right now pretending to be human?! Why did you go so far as to drag my son in and create the story of your liking? You're just a character! Do you understand?! A predetermined configuration that I created!" The hatred coming out of his mouth surprised Nico to no end.

"You're telling me that you'd shoot me with that? Go ahead and shoot, if you're going to. Do you think you can pull the trigger? No. You can never shoot." Nico could only stare at Apollo while he talked like that. "Because you're a character who cannot murder from the get-go." Apollo smirked while saying so as if he had the upper hand. "Because I've predetermined you to be a righteous guy. A guy that lives conscientiously and according to the law. You even have to carry out revenge following the proper law. That is how you have become a hero and people like you. You are a guy who cannot shoot a completely unarmed, powerless old man just because you are angry." Nico was furious, and his anger was showing in the shape of a tear falling from his eye. What did he want now...?

"That is your predetermined configuration. Do you believe you're here on your own accord? Your own free will? No. That is all predetermination as well. I made you be a man of extraordinary self-determination. The kind of will that would endure and breakthrough every difficulty." Apollo made a second-stop to chuckle to himself. "The only problem is that I've predetermined that part too much. If you cannot understand it yourself, you even reject death itself. Making you have such strong resolution is the problem. However, that resolution in its entirety was made by me. You have never once swerved from my predetermination. If you want to shoot me, shoot." Nico watched in surprise as Apollo walked closer to him as if he was taunting him. "Can you shoot?" Suddenly, Apollo was grabbing Nico's hand and placed the gun on his chest before shouting at him. "I said, try shooting!"

It was a split of a second, Nico staring at Apollo as if he had lost all reason, all logic. His mind couldn't comprehend it before Apollo simply pushed the gun away from him as if he was telling him 'see? I knew you wouldn't shoot'. Nico stared at the gun in his hand, part of him accepting the fate. He wasn't going to kill him, it was never his intention when he came there. So, he wiped his tears and decided to go back to this time, he grabbed Apollo by the neck of his clothes and dragged him towards another desk, sitting him on the chair by force.

"Sit and draw the ending that you first planned." Apollo stared at him. "So what you're saying is that you broke your original plan then made me commit suicide, and as I rejected it, everything became tangled. Then if you draw up the story as it was first planned, I too would comprehend it. Then everything will go back to the way it was." Nico explained from his point of view. "Isn't that so? My friends remain there... In a state that's not living nor dead. I can't allow them to remain in that pitiful plight."

"I'm sure it's because you came out into here." Apollo laid the blame on Nico's feet.

"Find the method, not the cause!" Nico shouted at him, angry at the man for not even acknowledging this was his fault. "Draw the panels and restore everything."

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Nico repeated, confused.

"There's nothing I can do." Apollo said again, shaking his head. "I can't even create an ending as I wish. What do you want me to do when the story only progresses when you have to comprehend it?"

"You know the kind of ending I can comprehend." Nico pushed into the topic. "It's simple. Capture the real culprit, and make him pay the price, and let me live an ordinary life. That is all." He simplified for him. "Just let me know who the real culprit is. As you say, my resolution to find the culprit is so strong that I seem to have come all this way, unable to die." He used Apollo's words against him before tossing him a sketchbook. "Draw the real culprit's face. In a way that I can remember." Seeing Apollo's hesitation, Nico had no option but to point at him with the gun. "Draw."

Nico saw Apollo lead his hand towards the pencil, trembling. He managed to grab the pencil and pull it out of the pencil-case before firmly placing it down on the desk, surprising Nico.

"There's none."

"What?"

"There's no real culprit." It was Nico's time to be shocked. "That was just a supposition from the beginning. A set up to make the protagonist strong... It is a common set up found in the hero genre. A traumatic scar from his youth. I also do not know who the culprit is." Apollo admitted, not daring to look at Nico in the eyes.

"Are you... seriously feeding that line to me?" Nico couldn't believe it. It couldn't be happening.

"The hero is made when isn't solved, you see?" Apollo finally looked at him, as if that justified everything. "If you catch the culprit, the story ends there. If one is happy, who'd offer to suffer through all that hardship? That is why there is not a single clue. Since there wasn't one to begin with."

"You said you don't know?" Nico checked, trying to control his emotions. "There's no culprit? After having killed my entire family, after framing me, throwing me in jail, even then you say you don't know?" Nico spoke softly at him, which was worse than screaming. This was a betrayal on the most personal level. Not even Will did something like this... "Without a doubt... they died in front of me, pitifully. My mom, dad, and younger sisters... I saw all of their corpses with my own eyes, yet you say there was no shooter?" Nico recalled the events, in denial.

Eventually, the dam around his feelings broke and he let them out.

"Is that why... you tried to kill me? Since you can never give a happy ending. If this incident hadn't happened, you'd have continued to draw this to enjoy your success until your dying day. As for me, without knowing the reason, I'd try to catch a criminal that I can't, daily suffering from insomnia, getting hurt, and broken. Suffering endlessly, yet repeating the same tasks." He ranted, more hurt than furious at this point. "Have you any idea at all what I've been through? If it were you, you wouldn't have been able to endure even one of those events, you made me go through countlessly many times. Acting like a god with those measly fingers, without bearing any responsibility... when I remember every agony..."

"That is fiction." Apollo justified himself. "That is the author's job."

"No." Nico argued with him. "You are not a mere author. You tried to kill me even after you saw me alive and breathing. That is your true nature. You are merciless and violent. It only didn't show because you held a pen instead of a knife." Nico couldn't hide his hurt anymore and pointed at Apollo with the gun again. "You're by nature a bastard and is no different than someone had already committed murder."

As soon as the gun was on Apollo's head, he closed his eyes, fearing his end. Had he accepted his fate or not would be something we'd never known.

Nico was having his internal battle. He wouldn't feel any better by shooting a disarmed man. Sure, the man ruined his life, literally making him what he was. But would that be the ending he wanted? That would not give him his family back. He would never hear Bianca nor Hazel bickering at each other or teaming against him. He would never hear his Dad again nor listen to his Mom's Italian songs.

On the other hand, Nico didn't want to become like the guy who killed his family. He didn't want to leave Will through the same path he had led. But his would hurt more because Apollo and Will were real people and him... he was just a drawing.

Finally, Nico pulled his gun away.

"Think of a way." Nico demanded. "Whatever it takes. Before I return. Consider yourself lucky." Those were his parting words, but Apollo displayed his arrogance again.

"It's not good luck. You couldn't have shot me anyway. That is the price you pay for your predetermined character."

* * *

The last thing Will heard from the call was a gunshot.

* * *

_Good morning/afternoon/evening!_

_I apologize for not posting last week. Like I promised the week before, here's the cliffhanger! I hope that from now on I can post the episodes completed each weekend (which would mean roughly 3 chapters a weekend). Let's see how I manage to keep that promise to myself... _

_See you guys next week!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	16. Episode 6, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 6: Part 1**

* * *

Nico saw the bullet going through Apollo's chest.

Sadly, at this point, he was in the mindset of not caring about anything else. He had discovered, from the mouth of who was said to be his creator, that he was nothing. That he was not real, that his feelings and actions care so little. So, that's why he shot.

He wasn't just a predetermined character.

He gave one last glance at Apollo before walking through the front door. He was absent-minded, thinking about his actions a few moments early. So, he was glad that he saw a girl with slightly red hair in the front garden.

"If you call 911 right away, he may live, if he's lucky." He told her, ignoring who she could be. He simply continued to walk away.

* * *

Will couldn't hold it anymore.

As soon as the taxi he was riding in reached a red light, he stepped out of it and ran the entire way back to his childhood home. He had no time to think about his feelings about the whole situation, he just heard a gunshot and knew where it could be now. By the time he had reached the house, it was raining heavily and the police had arrived at the scene.

He ignored the police calling him to stop. He just barged into the house and saw it was full of paramedics and officers, and a sobbing Kayla on a corner. It was at that precise moment that Will witnessed as his father, who was laid down on the floor, was given air to breathe by the paramedics.

"Dad!" The shock was too much for Will, who immediately kneeled next to the paramedics and began to shook the unconscious body of his father as if that would wake him up. "Dad! Dad!"

* * *

Will ended up riding the ambulance towards the hospital with the paramedics and his father.

"At the scene of the discovery, he had a gunshot wound in his chest and had some consciousness." One of the paramedics spoke through the phone. "Because his guardian, the son is a doctor at Fieldston Hospital, he is being transferred there."

"Dad! We're almost here, hang in there." Will mumbled, holding his in-and-out father's hand. Will didn't even notice that his shirt was covered in blood. "It's ok. It's not a big deal, don't be scared."

When Will saw Apollo close his eyes, he didn't need the annoying beep of a machine nor the statement of the paramedics to know what was wrong.

"There's no pulse and the blood pressure isn't showing up either." The paramedic said, stating the obvious. "According to the electrocardiogram, he's lacking a pulse."

"No... Please do CPR." Will begged. The other paramedic that had been quietly applying pressure on the gunshot wound immediately moved his hands closer to the heart and started to massage to do the reanimation. "Are we far from the hospital?" Will shouted, getting desperate.

"We have like one more mile left to go." He was informed. Desperation won in Will as he pushed aside the paramedic and began to do the CPR himself.

"Please! Please!" He repeated every time he would pump his father's chest. That extra mile the paramedic was talking about was eternal to Will but they eventually made it to the hospital, where a group led by Lee was there to greet them.

"Will, what's going on?" He asked his friend but Will was not in a chatty mood.

"Please move him to the trauma room. There's a lot of bleeding. Hurry!" With the paramedics and a group of at least five doctors and nurses behind him, Will made it to the trauma room in record time. The drama was so that even Professor Asclepius showed up.

"What happened?" He asked. Will was too focused on keeping his hands on the wound, so it was Lee who responded.

"He had a gunshot wound in the chest, we did CPR. In the chest x-ray, we saw that he had up to a quarter gallon of blood accumulation on the left side."

"I put in the chest tube. After inserting the tube, I infused over the quarter gallon of blood. The bleeding is continuous." Will took over the explanation, half of him feeling as if he was in class, though the emotions in his voice weren't normal. "I injected as much IV fluids as possible so his blood pressure and pulse were barely restored. But on the ultrasound, because the bullet went into the bottom left side of the heart..." Will got choked up and couldn't continue his explanation.

"Reserve a surgical room, have the cardiac team and the anesthesiologists scrub in, quickly move the patient up." Asclepius ordered quickly to the rest of the presents. "Move quickly!"

* * *

After being kicked out of the surgery room by Asclepius, Will went to the waiting room to see a worried Kayla. Will didn't even make it to the seats, he had collapsed on the nearby wall, wiping his tears. Kayla tentatively walked to him, leaning on the wall by his side.

"Nico di Angelo shot him." Kayla whispered, even though they were alone in the waiting room and nearby hallways. "I saw him. It _was_ Nico di Angelo." Kayla was scared out of her mind but she wasn't doubting her words. "He was armed with a gun."

"Where did he go?" Will asked, his face not showing any emotions.

"I don't know." Kayla admitted, rubbing her face with her hands. "I wasn't myself... The police asked me if I saw, but I couldn't answer. I didn't know what to say." Will didn't say any word, he was staring into space. "That's why he did it. There was a reason why Master tried to kill Nico di Angelo. He knew it would be like this from the beginning. Big Bro..." Kayla turned to him even if Will didn't notice. "Why did you save Nico di Angelo at that time? You should've just let him die." _Is she saying this is all my fault...?_ "Big Bro, you saved him and... this is what happened. He's just a cartoon character."

_Maybe, it is my fault..._

"Will!" The unmistakable voice of his Aunt Sally made Will look up from the floor. Not only Aunt Sally was there, but his mother Naomi was also there. This time, Will couldn't hide the tears. "Will!"

* * *

**Fieldston University Hospital Medical Center Reception**

"The hours of operation are over. If you are a patient please head to the Emergency Room..." The guard stopped one young man, who simply limited to hand an envelope to him.

"Please hand this to him."

"Excuse me?" The guard asked again, confused.

"To Will Solace of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department." The guard, now understanding a bit better, nodded and let go that slightly wet young man dressed in a black suit without any more explanations or requests.

* * *

_"Good morning, viewers this is a news alert. Cartoonist Apollo Solace, who is known for his popular comic, '**W**', suffered from shooting by an unidentified assailant and is currently in critical condition. At around 11 o'clock last night in his residence, he got shot with a gun by an unidentified assailant. Though he was moved immediately to the hospital and received surgery, the police have revealed that at this time he remains unconscious."_

* * *

Will was ignorant of the news so far.

He was seated by his father's side, staring and not staring at him. In all honesty, Will only used his father as a visual focus for his mind, a mind that was all over the place with memories and thoughts.

He remembered when his father wondered how he was the first time he was absent and sucked into the manhwa. How he then blamed everything on Nico, calling him 'monster'. How he decided to be judge and executioner of his creation. Even now, Will could recall the hatred that came out of his words, he could feel it.

He was torn. Part of her now hated Nico di Angelo with such passion only for the reason of shooting his father. On the other hand, he couldn't completely blame Nico for his actions. But he was so consumed by the hurt and the pain that he couldn't let the rational side of his brain to win, being close to having a meltdown.

"Go and get some sleep. I'll be here instead." Lee surprised him. _When did he get in?_

"What about Mom?"

"She just headed back home with your aunt. I sent them off in a taxi." Lee explained to him, supportively.

"You did well. Thank you." Will thanked him, trying to smile.

"Go rest a bit. The call room is empty." Lee reassured him. Will was about to protest but a call at that point gave him no other option than to retire to at least answer it. Once Will was out of the Intensive Care Unit, he answered the phone.

"Hello?" He answered, his voice a little hoarse.

_"Oh, Mr. Solace. This is Manager Hermes. The person you saw at the hospital earlier."_

"Oh, yes." Will acknowledged weakly.

_"How is Master?"_

"Well, he's still in the same state." Will admitted before correcting himself. "Well, it didn't get worse."

_"Ah, yes. I don't know if this is something I should pass on, in this situation..."_ Will could hear the hesitation in his voice. _"I have something I need to confirm."_

"What is the matter?"

_"It's about '**W**'."_ Will straighten up, wondering what could be now. _"There is a new chapter, but I don't know who sent it in. It isn't Master. But it also definitely seems like he drew it too. Who uploaded it? Was it by chance something that Master drafted before? The contents are a bit..."_

"When was the chapter sent in?" Will interrupted him, a little afraid now.

_"Oh yes. In the middle of the night. We just read it earlier."_ He was informed of. _"I didn't upload this yet since I thought I'd have to have a confirmation. Since the aftershock might be enormous."_

"Could I please see the story?"

* * *

It wasn't hard to make the man agree and Will rushed to the call room, as he preferred a computer to read the new manhwa chapter. However, part of him didn't want to read the new chapter. Bracing himself, he opened the sent file. The title said a lot by itself.

**'Nico di Angelo's Self-Realization'**

Scenes with only draws and no dialogue followed. Those scenes depicted Nico in one world before showing he was in another one, specifically in his world, in his hospital. The scenes of them talking outside, and then kissing, were there in all their glory. The next two scenes showed Nico holding Apollo at gunpoint before he was surprised by Apollo's words.

Nothing that Will had not heard.

But seeing it, even as a manhwa draw was different.

However, there was something here that Will had not known about before.

Nico di Angelo had written a letter to him.

_What could be written in that letter...?_

"Dr. Solace." Katie broke his concentration over the manhwa and Will immediately got up from his seat in worry.

"Why? Is it Dad?"

"No, it's not that." Katie rushed to reassure him. It was obvious by her face that she had expected that reaction and Will managed to release a sigh of relief. "Uh. This... I should've given it to you earlier, but I didn't know you were here." From her pocket, Katie materialized the envelope that Will had seen seconds ago on the screen. "Someone asked me to give this to you." Will stared at the envelope in Katie's hands, not moving from his spot. "I'll leave it here." Katie saw Will reticence in holding the envelope and left it on the desk before leaving the room.

"This..." Will stopped her. "Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know either." Katie explained from the door. "It came when I wasn't here." Katie nodded at Will before parting and leaving the resident to stare again at the envelope. His eyes moved from the real to the screen. Same handwriting, same size envelope, it seemed. Taking back seat, Will opened the letter and began to read. However, there's one sentence at the end of the letter that gets stuck in his mind:

**_'And thank you. Now I can leave knowing the truth about my life. To a hero who turned into a murderer while looking for a murderer, there isn't a more fitting ending than this, is there? So… goodbye…'_**

_He couldn't have done it, could he...?_

Will set the letter aside and went back to check the manhwa. And is shocked to discover his thoughts to be true.

The next scene is the Henry Hudson Bridge.

And, in a very tiny perspective, it was the body of Nico di Angelo holding onto the rails.

The next scene was of him lying motionless inside the river. And, to Will immensely surprise, the words '**The End**' written on the corner of the page.

Will wasted no time. He changed his clothes and rushed to the Henry Hudson River. To his infinite disappointment, the river was calm and motionless. He knew it would be worthless to go there, but he needed to check it personally. Now, when he had finally accepted who was to blame in this situation, he couldn't do anything about it.

Nico di Angelo was gone.


	17. Episode 6, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 6: Part 2**

* * *

The next morning, Will was back in his childhood home with Kayla, listening to the detectives that were in front of his father's attack. They even had put security tape around the entrance of the home.

"There are about ten CCTVs around the house but there's nothing on it. Not even a single one." The detective explained to them, pointing at the cameras. "If he went in from somewhere, he should've been caught on the camera but there is nothing. We haven't found the gun yet, either. Also, this is strange, but... the bullet that was taken out during the surgery disappeared." Will opened his eyes in surprise. The bullet was missing? How...? "By the look of it, someone must've smuggled it out... Is there anyone that you are suspicious about at the hospital?" The detective finished, looking at him.

"Not sure." Will admitted, not sure that there was a colleague from the hospital.

"The case is a little strange." The detective sighed and nodded at him. "Well, since your father is awake now. It will be revealed soon. Since he is the most definite witness." The detective excused himself to take a call and both Will and Kayla shared a look that said all.

They had to talk to Apollo.

* * *

As soon as his mother had told him his father was awake, Will headed to the hospital, Kayla in tow.

"Dad, can you hear me?" Will saw Apollo open his eyes slowly upon hearing his son. "There are things that you need to know." Apollo kept staring at his son while he talked. "Nico di Angelo..."

"Nico di Angelo committed suicide, Master." Kayla interceded for Will, who couldn't even finish the sentence. "The scene where he jumped from the Henry Hudson Bridge after he shot you, was uploaded exactly in the comic. All of the conversations and everything." She continued, trying to be respectful about what was coming next. "The editorial department has already seen it so they will probably tell the police soon. So we have to match our words and cover this case. If we can't explain the content of the comic, it will become more complicated. So I discussed with Big Bro."

The look that Will had on his face said that he would not take arguments about it.

Apollo had no other option but to listen.

* * *

_"The shooting on Cartoonist Apollo Solace, that occurred on the 3rd, was revealed to be a suicide attempt by the police. Mr. Solace having now only the last chapter to write of the series he had been working on for the past seven years was known to be suffering from extreme stress and depression. Even on the day of the incident, in a completely drunken state, he was unable to decide on the ending. Deliberated then seems to have made an extreme decision. This afternoon, Cartoonist Solace's popular manhwa, 'W''s ending was revealed; earning the center of attention. Despite people's expectations. It completely swerved off of them. The readers were not only shocked but angry. The protagonist of the __work, Nico di Angelo, went to find the cartoonist who drew him committing murder. Fell into the Hudson River, meeting death. As that was the end, countless phone calls and comments of objection flooded the portal site's offices for awhile their operation was completely frozen. Readers who couldn't bear to hide their disappointment decided to enact a petition to save Nico di Angelo pressuring the author to change the ending."_

* * *

**One month later...**

"I heard that the Master already got discharged." Will heard as his father's former Manager, Hermes talked. Two months had passed from the shooting incident and Apollo hadn't touched another pencil since then. Will respected his decision with a mix of sadness. He even was ordered to pack everything from the manhwa into boxes and the house seemed more empty. But not everyone was on the same page.

"He dislikes the hospital very much, so he moved back home." Will confessed.

"Even so, he should receive proper treatment at the hospital." Hermes insisted, like if the idea of not receiving a good treatment was ludicrous.

"I am staying with him. I'm taking a break." Will explained.

"I see. Young Will, it must be hard for you."

"Not at all." Will smiled at the man, who was asking with the best intentions, though he was looking for something else. "I like it since I can stay with my dad for a long time."

"I see. Perhaps, do you know? Even though it's been a month, it's still rowdy." And here, Hermes tried to tag into the topic he was interested in. "Did you hear about the petition '_Revive Nico di Angelo_'?"

"Really? I don't use the internet these days." _It's a very painful reminder..._

"I see." _No, you think I'm crazy..._ "The truth is the producers and directors are having a really difficult time. The movie is a big problem right now." And here's your motive... "It's a big problem. Because it's oddly stale. Since the main character is already dead, no matter how actively portrayed he is in the movie, people have no will to see it. So I'm wondering since the Master has been discharged from hospital... perhaps he changed his mind?"

"No." Will responded directly.

"Then, does he have thought of editing it?" Hermes tried one more time.

"He said he will retire." That answer from Will shocked Hermes. "He is old and had been overextending himself for such a long time. Please understand, Manager."

"Of course, yes, yes. I understand completely." _Of course, you don't..._ "I understand the Master was stressed but... just a few scenes. He can draw us just a few scenes."

"He will not do it." Will repeated, serious. "He will not draw it anymore. He can't draw it. Dad suffered through more difficult trials than you can ever imagine. So I don't think I can convince him. I'm very sorry." Will witnessed as Hermes emptied his glass on one large sip- so big he even wet his shirt -before addressing him again.

"Young Will, to be honest, I'm really upset." Hermes admitted to Will. "It wasn't a stylish death. It wasn't an emotional death. How can the main character just... disgracefully... pitifully..."

"You know... it's a manhwa." Will interjected when Hermes ran out of words to say. "He is just a main character from a manhwa. Why are you being so..." _Ironically, don't you think...?_ "Don't put your feelings into it. It's just a manhwa. You will forget about it soon."

_Fat chance of that one..._

* * *

"Big Bro!" Will heard Kayla calling for him while he was packaging some printed manhwas. "Big Bro, Big Bro!"

"Are you here to get your stuff? I didn't clean everything yet." Will told her, really missing the urgency in her voice.

"No, no. Big Bro. Come here." Kayla pulled Will away from the windows and house to talk to him in whispers. "Look, the police called. Not long ago they said a corpse was found." That piqued Will's interest. "Looking at the autopsy they said he's been dead for about a month now, but just found him because he was stuck in the seaweed. This... the way he died and the location is all... The location isn't that far from the Henry Hudson Bridge and the descriptions seem to match Nico di Angelo."

All those feelings, whether they were because of guilt, anger or sadness that Will had kept inside of him for the past month had resurfaced with the hope that maybe, if the body of Nico di Angelo was found, he could close that chapter of his life forever.

"Okay." Will managed to say.

"They said they're going to cremate him in the afternoon. Hurry!" Kayla urged him, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards her car. Will's mind couldn't be made up. What he should be feeling? Grateful that Nico's body was found? Upset? Hurt? Sad? His mind was a whirlwind of emotions and didn't snap until he was in the morgue alongside a police officer, the coroner, and Kayla.

"The corpse is old and the days been hot, so the decomposition is a bit rough. It'll be hard to look at." The officer warned them. "If you think you'll be in shock you can just look at it through the file." He added.

"I'm a doctor, so I'm fine. Please show me." Will stopped any other complaint with that and the coroner removed the cloth that covered the body. Will closed his eyes for a second, not because of the corpse but because of his thoughts of someone doing that. Kayla couldn't help it and showed his nerves by almost throwing up.

"Can you check the clothes. If it's the one he was wearing on the last day..." The officer recommended when he saw Will inspecting the corpse. In less than a minute, Will found evidence that it wasn't who he was looking for.

"It's not him. He's wearing a ring, so it's not him." He affirmed, pointing it out.

"Are you certain he wasn't wearing a ring when he went missing?" The officer insisted.

"It's not the person we're looking for, I'm certain." Will nodded in reaffirmation.

_How should I feel now...?_

* * *

**Another month later...**

Will checked the time with the clock before making the call. The phone didn't even ring long enough before being answered.

_"Yes, we're here now."_ Came the answer from the other side. _"We're about to go in!"_

"Be careful and call me as soon as you land." Will told Apollo, feeling a little bad that he wasn't able to take his father to the airport. Another part of him was happy that he wanted to do this trip with his friends. "It takes about 12 hours to get there, right? Ah, right!" He jumped in the last second, remembering something. "Dad, alcohol. You seriously must never drink alcohol. Not even one sip. I'm going to call your friends and confirm it." He threatened him at the end, slightly joking. "Don't forget your medicine."

_"Don't worry about me, Will."_ Apollo reassured him.

"Have a safe trip. Make sure to call me." Will reminded him before hanging up. It wasn't until then that Will noticed that Professor Asclepius was in the room. "Professor."

"Is your father going somewhere?" _Noisy doctor if there's one..._

"He's going to New Zealand."

"He's going on such a long trip already? That's not good." _Is that worry for a patient or what...?_

"It's no use stopping him." Will admitted, shaking his head. "Also, rather than going for a vacation, it's more recreational. He said he has a friend there." _Why am I explaining this to him...?_

"Oh." Was his only reply before looking over him. "You washed your hair this time at least."

"Excuse me?" This time, Will was really perplexed at why he would say such a thing.

"What did you wear today?" Asclepius walked closer and opened Will's lab coat, who immediately hit his hand away, frowning, and pulling his lab coat tighter.

"What's the matter with you?" Will eyed his professor, warily now.

"Come out. I'll buy you food." _Is he bipolar or something...?_

"F-Food?" Will stammered. "No, I'm okay! I'm not hungry at all!" He refused the idea, vehemently. However, Asclepius was walking out without even looking back.

"Come out within 5 minutes. Put on some cologne." _Why is he being like that again...?_ Will could only wonder, looking like if he had been placed between a rock and a wall... which metaphorically he was.

_What now...?_


	18. Episode 6, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 6: Part 3**

* * *

It was only midway towards the restaurant that Will recognized what was going on.

However, it was too late now.

"P-Professor, I think this is a little- Asking me to go on a blind date without even giving me a heads up..."

"You said you were a substitute." Asclepius reminded him, making Will groan internally. "Are there substitutes who get prior notice?"

"I don't want to be a substitute." Will admitted.

"You don't have a girlfriend. I checked they all said they don't have a lover, yet only you washed your hair." _Why does everyone poke their noses on my life...?_ "That's why you've ended up being the substitute. Think yourself lucky, kid.

"I did a useless thing. Why did I wash my hair when I don't usually wash it often." Will mumbled to himself, a hand passing through his hair.

"Don't say useless things and sit down." Asclepius ordered him. Will had no other choice but to do so. "How long has it been seen you've gone on a blind date?" _An interrogation now?_

"It's been maybe six months?" _To be honest, I haven't counted them..._ Asclepius tsked at him before '_imparting wisdom_' in his style.

"Hey, your father pitied his son so much that he put in a lot of romance at the end of his manhwa with your name. Isn't that it? To find satisfaction in that at least?" _You must always bring it back...?_

"I guess that's what he must have done." Will lied through his teeth.

"Oh, incoming." Asclepius suddenly announced and Will had no option but to turn around. Coming through the door was a handsome man dressed in a grey suit with a white shirt. He was slim and built at the same time and his face had angular factions. He was handsome at sight and Will wondered if his professor had hit jackpot this time for him.

That was a fantasy.

Asclepius was gesturing the woman that was coming through the door behind the man. The woman wasn't ugly but it wasn't the prettiest Will had seen. She was wearing a grey-and-white dress and her hair seemed to be controlled under a heavy amount of products which didn't look good, not to mention her face didn't look real under all that makeup.

_A woman...? Again...?_

"She's a beauty, right?"

"A beauty?" Will repeated, outraged.

"She just looks like a woman." _What kind of definition he has of women?_

"Professor, this..." Will tried to excuse him, or at least to look humble but Asclepius was on his '_I talk, you shut up_' rants.

"She graduated at the top of her class from the Judicial Research and Training Institute. And usually, height, good looks, and brain, you can't have all three. At least she ranks number 1 in at least one of the categories!"

"There could be a guy that's number 1 in all three of the categories." Will said thoughtful but Asclepius misunderstood. As always.

"Who? Me?" Will hoped the face of horror he shared with his professor was enough to convey the message.

"Professor!" Gods, even the feminine voice sounds a little fake.

"Yes, sit down." At least, Asclepius got up to help her sit down in front of Will who was immobile in his seat. "Now, this is Will Solace. A thoracic surgery resident. As for you, introduce yourself."

"Hello. My name is Medusa Gorgon." The woman introduced herself, timidly offering her hand.

"Ah, hello." Will replied politely back, barely touching her hand.

"Are you my ideal type?" Will had no other solution but to laugh, though his laugh looked forced to anyone else.

"You have such low standards, it's so easy for me to introduce people to you." Asclepius scolded the young woman. "He's even this humble."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

While the conversation was going on, Will had no options but to laugh at cue. It was painful for him.

"He seems to like it."

"This is the first time I've seen him so happy." This is my fake laugh! I need to get out a minute...

"I'm going to use the restroom for a bit." Will excused himself before heading to the bathroom and hoping Asclepius didn't follow him. As soon as he was in the 'safety' of the bathroom, he made a call to blow some steam. "It's a failure."

_"It's a failure. I knew that would be the case."_ Lee answered Will, not needing to know the details.

"Is Mad Dog crazy?" Will questioned before dramatically adding. "I suddenly really woke up. Through this blind date, I feel even more passionate about how I should live in the future. It's true... I did keep myself away from this lifestyle for a while." He admitted at the end.

_"Yes, yes. You were in too big of a 'good-son' mode lately."_ Lee agreed with him through the phone while Will washed his hands to waste time.

"He got me to go all out until the '_Hero_' became the '_Zero_'." He knew Lee would understand the quote. "Hey, you have to meet your quota, too. For the next month, you're going on one blind date a week." He warned him, serious.

_"Did you schedule it? Besides, how can I meet four people a month when I'm so busy?"_ Lee joked with him. However, Will didn't hear any of that.

He didn't hear anything at all.

"Hello?" He called Lee, considering weird his friend would hang upon him. "Hello?" He turned around the bathroom, thinking it was the signal when he suddenly was being submerged into water.

Cold and deep water.

He looked around and couldn't see anything, not even the surface. That's how he knew he was in deep waters. Looking around, half of him was hoping to find a clue as to where he was. The clue was there in the way he least expected it.

A floating-sinking Nico di Angelo was seeing at the distance.

Will didn't think it twice, he began swimming towards Nico, to see if he still had a conscious or if he had a pulse. Losing his phone in the process, Will continued trying to get closer to Nico but it seemed that every attempt he did of holding his hand, Nico would be out of range. As if there was a limit to where Will could reach to help and Nico kept on sinking.

Seeing as nothing he was doing could help, desperate, Will did an attempt to reach the surface and, as if by magic, he was back again in the restaurant's bathroom. The room was cleaned of water but he was soaking wet, the biggest evidence of it being his hair. He panted for air and stared at himself in the mirror, having reached a realization.

He bolted out to the bathroom and back to his '_date_', who was talking to Asclepius.

"If it weren't for me..." Will interrupted whatever Asclepius was about to say with his entrance. The entire restaurant was looking at his appearance. "What is this? W-What's wrong? What happened?"

"Please give me your phone." Will panted a little, looking at him.

"But... Why are you in this state?" Asclepius repeated, serious.

"Give me your phone!" Will emphasized.

"Please, use my phone." Medusa offered to him and Will nodded at her before using it to log into the manhwa's website. Will tuned out the questions of his professor while he stared at the last scene that was '_drawn_'. His eyes opened wide when he saw how the words '**The End**' changed on their own to '**To Be Continued**'.

Nico di Angelo was still alive.

"Thank you." Will said to Medusa before leaving the restaurant, ignoring the calls from everyone. He ran around the streets, attracting the attention of a lot of people, mainly because of his wet clothes. He didn't care, he was in the search of something. As soon as he found the place he was looking for he rang the bell.

"Yes?" A woman with a hair bun and a dressed that made her happiness extreme answered the door

"Kayla Knowles is here, right?" Will asked her, trying to recover from his run.

"Who are you?" The woman wondered, well within her rights to refuse entry to a stranger. But Will was in a hurry and had seen Kayla from the door. "Hey, hey!"

"Big Bro, why are you in this state? Is it raining outside?" Kayla looked at him, worried. Will simply grabbed her forearm.

"See me for a second." He dragged her outside the tiny apartment, leaving Kayla no time to explain anything. "Ah, what's wrong with you? Let me go, seriously." She complained as soon as they were outside. "But, what brings you here? No way... did his dead body come out?" Kayla assumed, watching his wet clothes.

"No. Please save Nico di Angelo." Will told her. Kayla stared at him, confused. "Save him. I think we can save him."

"What are you talking about? The manhwa ended." Kayla reminded him.

"Time didn't pass." Will explained to a perplexed Kayla who was listening intently. "It was stopped. 'The End' meant that the time just stopped at the last scene. He's still there, in the river."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw him with my own eyes!" Kayla's eyes opened big, listening. "I went into the water a few moments ago." Kayla gasped and touched Will's damped hair as proof.

"You went in the water..." Kayla repeated, somehow understanding now.

"Let's go home" Will proposed to her. "I fixed the tablet that Dad used. We can draw with that."

"Is it not Master's doing?" Kayla checked, shyly.

"My dad is inside the airplane right now. There is no way!" Will assured him. "And he said that he couldn't fix the manhwa either."

"Then are you saying that the word 'The End' changed to 'To Be Continued'? Why?"

"I don't know either!"

"I don't understand this. It ended!" Kayla rubbed the sides of her temple, trying to avoid a headache. "It's not like we tried to kill him without any logical connection, like last time. With his own will, the main character killed himself. Why isn't it ending?" She reasoned, logically.

"There is another reason why it can't end yet." Will announced, serious.

"Another reason? What is it?" Kayla couldn't understand the logic behind all this. "What is the reason?" She insisted and Will was getting annoyed.

* * *

Meanwhile, while Will and Kayla were arguing about why wouldn't a manhwa end, in the same spot that Will had stopped two months back to see if Nico was alive, a man was committing the unthinkable.

* * *

"Kayla! The reason is not important right now, but saving Nico di Angelo is!" Will insisted again, once they were back on the house and had called the publisher about it. "This is saying that we need to save the main character. Since he cannot save himself, the story cannot be continued. He has no will to live either. We have to save him!" He finished his rant to her, pleadingly. "Time didn't pass. It stopped in the last chapter, so anything is possible. Let's see..." Will began pacing, thoughtful. "Oh, we can draw a boat in the first scene. A police boat! A police boat was passing by the Henry Hudson Bridge at that moment. Draw divers in the boat as well. If the divers jump in right away, we can save him! We don't know if he's dead for sure. We can only see that moment after he jumped off. So we can wake him up. We can just say that he was still breathing."

"Wait a moment." Kayla stopped Will's enthusiasm. "You're not telling me to draw that, right?"

"I only have you. You can draw it!" Will encouraged her.

"No, I can't! It probably won't work." She refused, seriously. "It's not that it's not going to work. I can't do it! It's Master's work! I can draw similarly, but I can't draw exactly like Master." She recognized. "I told you that there is a difference! So when Master comes back, we can talk-"

"Dad's not going to do it! He won't draw because of me!" Will ended up shouting at her, annoyed. "He doesn't want me to get dragged into the manhwa again." He lowered his voice again.

"That's right! Like that!" It was as if a lightbulb turned on Kayla's mind. "Like that, you went into the water, right? So we can't draw anymore! You went out of the manhwa world as an escaped prisoner."

"Does that matter right now? Did you not understand me?" Will was getting furious on hearing Kayla's refusal. "There is nothing more important than saving Nico di Angelo right now! Fine. Nico di Angelo did indeed shoot Dad with a gun and he did commit a crime that is hard to forgive." He admitted, nodding. "This curse-like manhwa should indeed end, and, indeed, I can't get dragged back in here again. Everything is true, but Dad is alive. He's all healed. He's all healed and went on a trip with his friends. You and I are both living normally as if nothing happened. People? They will just get angry for a little while. He's just a manhwa book character anyway. But Nico di Angelo is in that cold water, and is condemning himself as a murderer, and has been there alone for over two months. That's too much. I... How about me? It feels like all of this is my fault, Kayla." At this point, it was hard for both Kayla and Will to maintain their positions. Will looked ready to sob his heart out while Kayla had a hard time ignoring him. "So just save him. Please, I beg you."

"Big Bro, I don't think it will work if I draw." Kayla confessed, giving in. "I'm not Master."

"You drew with him for over three years. This is dad's, and everything began in this tablet."

"Let's try it. I'll try it. I'll try it." Kayla announced, totally giving in to the pleading. Will smiled and helped her sitting on the chair. "I'll do it! Seriously!" Once Will saw Kayla grabbing the stylus pen, he began pacing around. An hour pass like this before Kayla surprised Will by banging the table. "Why isn't this working? It doesn't work!" She complained, frustrated. "I finished drawing it an hour ago, and nothing happened! If something went right, there must be some changes! Like the next scene gets drawn on its own, or something like that. I told you that it won't work." She said, defeated. "It's not my work. I'm just his assistant. If anyone could just draw, he would have become alive from just a fanfiction." She joked at the end, serious. "When Master comes, you can ask him and try again."

"Dad won't do it, especially if he knows what happened today." Will was sure of this, he didn't need visual confirmation.

"Big Bro... Will Big Bro... There is no way, besides Master drawing it himself." Kayla insisted on it. "Dad will never do it." He repeated, defeated. A sudden 'bang' from Kayla made him lookup. "What?"

"Do you remember?" Kayla started, thinking hard. "Long time ago, I think I heard this from Master. You know, about '**W**'. I heard you-"

* * *

Later on, while doing some rounds, two prison guards found something that they couldn't believe their eyes.

"He's here!" One of them yelled, calling the alarm. The screams woke the passed out figure of the floor who looked a little confused as to where he was. "The escaped prisoner is here! Here!"

* * *

At the same moment, somewhere a bit far from the prison, a lifeguard boat was making rounds when they saw a body fell from the Henry Hudson Bridge.

"What is that? A person fell! Hurry up!" One of the onboard lifeguards shouted orders before two threw themselves into the water to rescue the person up to the surface.

* * *

Hours later, the person who jumped off the bridge woke up in a jolt. He looked down at his hands and around before realizing where he was.

Nico di Angelo was alive.

* * *

In the prison, Will Solace was happy to be back.


	19. Episode 7, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 7: Part 1**

* * *

_~FLASHBACK~_

_"Do you remember?" Kayla started, thinking hard while looking at Will. "Long time ago, I think I heard this from Master. You know, about '**W**'. I heard you- that '**W**' was created... by you." Will stared at Kayla as if she had gone insane. "Do you know he said you created the character Nico di Angelo?"_

_"What do you mean?" Will checked with her, still confused._

_"You know that the stories that you created when you were younger were brought together to make W. Don't you remember?" Kayla insisted on what prompted Will into remembering a different time when he was more innocent. _

_He remembered watching an Olympic event and fake swooning over the athlete with his friends. How his father had scolded them for shouting before his mother joined the group to watch the ending._

_He also remembered being in his room, drawing. His friends had been talking about the ideal type during the event. Will had kept quiet but now, he was free into letting the pencil talk for him. The slightly cartoonish shape of a guy with black hair was emerging and he even ended up writing down some specifications like his age, his height, and his abilities._

_But he never gave him a name._

_It looked as he had indeed created Nico di Angelo._

_With these thoughts, with these memories, Will took the tablet to his room and began to draw. It was difficult for him, he hadn't drawn in years and he wasn't used to the materials- especially the stylus pen._

_After an hour or two, Kayla went to check on him, bringing along something to drink_

_"Don't look! Don't!" Will, a bit childish, hid his progress to an amused Kayla with his body._

_"I didn't see anything. Why are you being like that?" She assured before saying a big truth. "Big Bro, I still have to see it, though. Yeah? I have to see it, to be able to give you feedback. Ok, ok. I won't make fun of it." Will looked unsure while Kayla was talking. "I need to see it, to say anything. Let me see." Redundantly, Will pulled away and Kayla couldn't keep her promise when she let out a chuckle. In front of her, there was a character that didn't look like Nico di Angelo at all. "You made a new character! Wow... it looks nothing like Nico di Angelo."_

_"Ugh. It's too hard. The lines aren't coming out right." Will admitted, complaining._

_"He said that you're good at drawing." Kayla recalled, earning a bad look from Will. "Your dream was to be a cartoonist wasn't it?"_

_"Do you know how long it's been since I stopped drawing? And this stylus pen!" Will defended himself showing the big technological pen in his hand. "The stylus' awkward. There wasn't anything like this back in the day."_

_"Big Bro, if you don't think it's going to work out, just give up. Later when Master gets back-"_

_"Hey, don't say a single word to Dad." Will reminded her, narrowing his eyes a little. Then, he turned back to the screen, determined. "I'm going to save him. I'm going to save Nico di Angelo."_

_"Drink up." Kayla advised him before leaving the room with mumbles. "Can anyone draw a comic? Work hard..." Will ignored all this._

_He was on a mission._

_~FLASHBACK~_

* * *

Nico woke up in a jolt.

He almost literally jumped out of bed.

It took him a second to see his surroundings and his hand to realize what was going on. He even touched himself to make sure he was not dreaming or anything.

"Right. He doesn't seem to have any injuries." Reyna's voice made him realize that someone else was in the room. "I'm not sure either. I'll let you know when he wakes up." Nico thought for a second if this was the real world or if he was dreaming. Decided, he got up from the bed and walked to Reyna who hadn't realized he was awake yet. "I don't think you must come over right away. For now-" Reyna was interrupted when Nico abruptly turned her around. "He's awake. I'll call you back." Hanging the call, it took her two seconds to go ranting to him. "What happened? Explain. Why did you go to the Hudson River? Why would you fall into there? Someone pushed you, right? I asked, why did you go there in the middle of the night! Out of the blue!"

"What happened?" Nico asked. In his mind, he wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to die in the real world. _How...?_

"That's what I'm asking you right now. What happened?"

"What's today's date?" Nico was still confused and his face told so but Reyna couldn't understand why. "How was the course of events today? From where did things-"

"Why are you being like this? Don't you remember?" She questioned him, shocked. "You disappeared suddenly, after visiting Will Solace at the detention center. Everyone was frantic because Will Solace broke out of jail, and then you disappeared for the whole day too." Things started to fall in pieces for Nico. Looked like time hadn't passed here while he was gone. "I went everywhere to find you. You didn't pick up the phone either. Then we got a call from the police, saying you fell into the Hudson River. Why did you go to the Hudson River at that time and fall in? Exactly what is happening?"

_I can't exactly explain, can I...?_

At that moment, Percy walked into the room to get the shock of his life.

"About Will Solace... You're awake?" He looked over to his cousin standing there but Nico had more pressing matters now.

"What about Will Solace?"

"What happened at the Hudson River?" Percy insisted but Nico wasn't going to be swayed.

"What were you saying about Will Solace?"

"Will Solace was caught." _What...?_

"They caught him?" Reyna looked as surprised as everyone else but Nico wasn't even paying attention to it.

"We just got a call. They said they caught him again." Percy said. _How was Will back in this world too? How was I back in this world too...?_

"Whew. That's a relief." Reyna weirdly showed her happiness. "Because of that man, we were about to be completely framed for all of it. Where?" Nico paid attention, he wanted that answer too.

"They said he was inside the detention center."

"What are you talking about? He was in there, but they couldn't find him?" That made no logic to Reyna but Nico didn't need the logic. He needed to see him. He went to the closet to get a coat but his actions didn't pass inconspicuously. Not like he was trying to hide them. "Where are you going?"

"CEO di Angelo, what are you doing this late at night?" Percy tried the formal title, trying to get his attention and he managed. A little.

"Sign me up for a formal visitation to Will Solace. I need to meet him immediately this instant."

And to the astonishment of the presents, Nico left his room without more explanation. Neither Reyna or Percy followed him which was slightly good. If any of them were when he met Will two things could happen: one, Reyna would do the talking and he would find out nothing; two, the conversation could be restrictive or in code and would need further explanation.

No, it was better alone.

On the way, Nico decided to listen to the news, to see what they say about the incident.

_"The suspect, Mr. Solace, who escaped from New York Detention Center yesterday afternoon, was re-arrested just a while ago. Though it was anticipated that he had already escaped into the city, he was found to have been hiding within the detention facility and then arrested. The police took him into immediate custody, and he is now being transferred to the __Central Police Station. It is anticipated that he will be interrogated into the night."_

Nico wasted no time and turned the car around, heading directly towards the police station. Luckily, he didn't have to get into the station, as he managed to get the transport vehicle on its way there. Crossing his car directly in the path of a police patrol would only go one way and the officers were already pointing their guns at him before even seeing him.

"CEO di Angelo." One of the officers recognized him as soon as he had gotten out of the car. Nico gave him a nod as a greet. "Did you come because you heard the news?" The officer's assumption was correct but Nico said nothing. "The suspect is being transferred to the Central Police Station. If you go there-"

"I'm sorry. But I'll talk here for a bit." Nico interrupted him politely, fully aware that he was breaking the law. He took a step forward but the officer stood on his way.

"Hold on, please. It's not possible." He was slightly apologizing for not letting him. "You need to formally register for visitation at the police station-"

"It'll only be for a little while." This time, the officer couldn't stop him but followed him to the transport vehicle. "I'll talk for just 5 minutes." He promised to the officer. Seeing as he wasn't going to be convinced otherwise, the officers let him.

Hearing that Will Solace was in his world was one thing. But seeing Will Solace sitting in that transport vehicle was a completely different one. Nico sat in one of the many empty seats there, staring at Will who didn't seem as surprised as he was. Was he waiting for me? Was he still angry about what I did?

"Are you okay?" Will began talking. To Nico's surprise, he looked slightly happy for someone that was just caught and is being taken to a police station. "I was curious about what happened to the person who jumped in the Hudson River, but you look ok."

"How-?" Was the only word that Nico managed to get out of his mouth before Will answered him.

"How... are you alive?" He completed, smiling softly. "When you jumped down into the Hudson River, CEO, a police boat happened to pass through, coincidentally. And even _more_ coincidentally, there were two divers on board that boat. As soon as you fell, the divers jumped in and saved you. Right before you suffocated. It's quite fortuitous. I don't know how you could have such luck." There was a tone in his voice Nico couldn't identify, Will looked very smug about the chain of events.

"Your father..."

"He's alive." Will told him, his voice now going neutral, though a tiny smile showed up. "Two months have passed there. He recovered and went on vacation." _Of course, he held some resentment... However, why would he...?_

"There's no way your father would-"

"It wasn't my father, I'm the one who saved you." Nico was surprised by the statement. Even more when Will showed him his bruised and calloused fingers. Nico couldn't believe his eyes. "I saved you." He repeated before putting his hands away. "So... now Is this about the third time I saved your life?" He tried to sound playful but Nico was too shocked.

"How did you-"

"Are you curious? If you're curious, then answer me first then I'll tell you." Will quoted him and Nico noticed.

"You've been quoting my words since earlier."

"If your life goal disappeared, just set a new one." Will continued as if he hadn't interrupted him. "Don't think of jumping into the water and dying. No, how can revenge be your only life goal? If you don't know what to do while living, I'll let you know what it is that you have to do right now." Here, Will looked around as if he was about to reveal a big secret. "Get me out of here. Not escaping jail, like last time. But legally, using correct procedures. That way I don't have to be on the run, every time I go to meet you. Well, you call me your lifesaver, but what have you done for me until now? You know very well how ungrateful you've been right? So from now on, pay back your debt. Use all of your abilities and save me. You can. If you're curious as to how I saved you, start by doing that." Will added to tempt him. "I'll answer you when I get out of the detention center."

"You want me to get an escaped prisoner out?" Nico corroborated, snorting a bit. "Do you think it's that simple?"

"I'm asking you because it's not easy." Will recognized, smiling softly. "Hit the ground running until your feet become drenched in sweat. Don't think of other things."

Both looked up when the officer appeared by the door.

"CEO, if you take any longer, it'll be difficult for me."

"I'm going." Nico agreed, with one last look to Will.

"Also, starting from now, your life isn't my dad's work." Will reminded him. "That's finished, completely. Starting from now, think of this as a sequel that we're making together." _What...?_ "My taste is different from my dad. Murder cases, revenge, gunfights, and thriller. Yeah, I'm a man but that doesn't mean I have to like those kinds of things. My taste... is a sweet romance." At the end of his statement, Will shrugged with a smile as if saying '_I can't help it!_'

"Please get off." The officer insisted and Nico had no choice but to listen to him. As soon as he was about to cross the door, he glanced at Will one last time, who only replied by showing him his handcuffed wrists.

"I'm sorry." Nico apologized to the officer once he was out of the transport vehicle.

"If you'd like to visit, you can do so by coming in the morning to the Central Police Station." The officer reminded him.

"Yes, I'll do that."

With that, the patrol and the vehicle left the scene, leaving Nico alone with his thoughts.

_Why was all this happening...?_

_What should I do now...?_

_Why did Will do that...?_


	20. Episode 7, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 7: Part 2**

* * *

Just like he had promised the officer, Nico was early in the police station the next morning.

Indeed so early, that surprised everyone, even Detective Yang who was in charge of interrogating Will.

"Oh! You're here, sir?" The detective greeted him, dragging along Will who was more surprised to see him there. Nico wasn't alone however, Percy and a member of his legal team were also there. "I heard that you are personally coming, so I decided here as the meeting spot. This place is very refreshing, you know."

"I'm sorry for continuing to break the regulations." Nico apologized to Detective Yang who waved it off as if it was nothing.

"What are you saying?" He argued, almost laughing. "Sir, you are the same as one of the Senior Police Advisors. Would you like a cup of coffee?" He offered him.

"I'm fine." Nico declined the polite offer, serious.

"Then, I turned off the recording. Feel free to talk comfortably." Detective Yang informed him before guiding both Percy and the lawyer that had come along. As soon as they were moving, Nico took a seat.

So far, he hadn't even looked at Will, who took a seat in front of him.

"You came early." Will noticed, getting a bit excited as Nico noticed. "You found a way for me to get out? Already? I heard it's not easy to get an escaped prisoner out. As expected, since you are a capable man." He praised him, but Nico was not in the mood for what he considered mental games.

"What are you to me?" That question seemed to unbalanced Will who immediately turned serious and confused. "Who are you to keep interfering with my life as you wish? With what right?" By now, it was obvious why Nico had come to Will. And he was as surprised as his face showed. "I think I get how you saved me, without bothering to hearing it directly. You must have drawn the panels, with your own hands. I don't know the reason, but well I'm not even curious if it was possible because you are the daughter of that cartoonist. But, you drew me and saved me. Do you think those actions are within your right? Why did you continue on my death that I chose? What are you? Are you the creator of all things? When I struggled to live with all my strength, you tried to kill me. Now that I tried to die, you saved me. Is this a game? Is that thrilling and fun to you people?"

"H- How can you speak like that? You think me by chance-" Will was so shocked hearing Nico's rant, his eyes were filling with tears, and Nico could tell he was not expecting this.

"You must have thought that I would be just happy and thankful if you saved me." Nico kept talking to him, his face's expressions changing slightly from impasse to anger. "A sequel. You said a sequel, right? You said that sweet romance is your preference. So you want to play with me? As expected, when you are bored and free from time to time, you can come here and enjoy then go back to the real world. That's all it is for you. Did you save me to play a romance game with me? Do I look like a toy to you?"

"How- How can you-" Will was at a loss of words. "Is that how you understand it?" He wanted to know, his words a little chocked up. Nico limited to nod to him.

"How can I live from now on? Do you know where I am coming from?" Nico continued to talk. "You have a father and a mother. I don't have any. Before, they were deceased, but now, they weren't there from the beginning. I am an orphan from the beginning, and I was born alone. On the tip of an alcoholic's stylus pen. Why... have I been sad all this time, and what was I longing for? Don't overdo it. You must be proud of yourself that you managed to do something, but that's not true at all. You did an utterly useless thing. Who will be thankful? Who will want to live this kind of life again that you would create a sequel?"

What Nico was not realizing was that maintaining the same tone of voice made it ten times worst to Will, who was wishing he would yell or shout instead of talking as if nothing mattered. He preferred the shouting they had in the bathroom a long time ago than this.

"I did a needless thing." Will couldn't take it anymore and released the tears he bravely was trying to keep at bay. He didn't even bother to hide or wipe them away.

"You understand that you made a mistake now?" Will nodded at him.

"Yes. I get it now." Will looked at him, defiantly, before doing his rant. "If I was going to only face this kind of resentment, why should I have bothered? Even if you floated in the water for your whole life, I should have just ignored you. Why was I worried sick for over two months... all by myself."

"Exactly. Why did you do that?" Nico repeated though he didn't sound as though as he wanted. "You could have just worked hard in the hospital date, and live well. Why did you do something like this? Why did you have regrets about this shoddy manhwa, and be handcuffed and suffer through all-?" By now, Nico was shouting at Will, so Will had no option but to shout his reply.

"Because I love you!" Will admitted. Of all the words in the world, Nico thought he would hear, those were the last on his mind. "I know it makes no sense, but I ended up sincerely loving you."

Five seconds later, Will was gone.

Five more seconds and Nico realized what had happened.

The words weren't new, Will had tried to use them several times before trying to return to his world. The only difference this time was that now, Nico had been moved. He had felt something when hearing them. 'A change of heart', Will had called it. If he accepted his feelings, all those things that happened with Will weren't just created.

They were real.

Accepting the fact that Will was gone- probably to never see him again -and he had to explain his disappearance, Nico got up from his seat and headed to the door when he heard some ruffling behind him. For the first time in his life, he was fearful to even turn around but bravely did so... to find Will sitting there.

"You were talking big as if you will never be moved." Will mocked him. It wasn't lost to Nico that he was trying to sound as if his words had meant nothing. "You were moved by those petty words? And don't reproach me." He added, looking at him. "Do you think I wanted to come here? I was dragged in here because you keep thinking of me. Back in the river too, and even now. No?" He checked, unsure. Nico rewarded him with a small sad smile.

"That's right." He agreed. "I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"I was afraid that I might never see you again." It only took Nico two big strides to get back to Will and surprised him. As soon as he was in reach, he cupped Will's face and planted a kiss on his lips.

Will didn't keep him waiting and kissed him back as deep as he was receiving. They were so into each other they barely heard that Detective Yang not only had come in and out but also looked flustered of catching them in the act! Will was the first one noticing that.

"Is it okay? I think the detective just came in and left." He mumbled, earning a smirk from Nico.

"It doesn't matter." And to show it didn't matter to him, Nico lifted him and sat him on the table. Not even slow, Will passed Nico's head in between his handcuffed wrists and kissed him again, as passionated as before. Nico immediately wrapped his arms around his torso, pulling him closer in the kiss. He even gave Will a personalized up-closed smile.

It was one of those moments neither wanted to end.

* * *

Since the moment Nico visited Will, his mind would have picked it as the happiest time of his life.

Sure, he was lying on a cell alone, and he wasn't considering how worried his mom and aunt would be when they realized he hadn't returned yet. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't even thinking about them at all. Not even mention about his job at the hospital.

He was walking the dangerous line between his realities and was starting to confuse them.

"4205! Visitation request by the victim." A guard yelled from outside his cell, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yes." Will answered. Not like he had another alternative about it. The guard took him to the visitation boxes and his happiness exploded like a balloon when he didn't see Nico along with Percy and who seemed to be a lawyer. "Where's the CEO?" He asked, surprised.

"He's busy. Please sit." Percy told him. Will did as told, confused and a little disappointed. "Instead, he told me to deliver a message."

"A message?" Will repeated, slightly looking like a fool.

"You can hear the legal details directly from the lawyer here." The lawyer nodded in acknowledgment to Percy's words who, under Will's eyes, looked slightly uncomfortable. "The CEO told me to tell you this exactly word for word." Here, Percy cleared his throat before beginning. "_'Now that I looked into it, there is more than one kind of sweet romance that female and men like.'_"

"What?" Will's voice mimicked his thoughts. _What was Nico planning here...? And what could he be planning that made Percy so uncomfortable...?_

"_'Though I want to pay back my debt, it's too broad of a goal. So ask him to please narrow the parameters.'_" Percy continued before lifting his hand and began counting. "_'Number 1, a Prince Charming concept with a fancy party.'_" Just by hearing that, Will's vocabulary reduced to just one word.

"What?"

"_'Number 2, a romantic vacation in the countryside, just the two of us. Number 3, a simple and sweet day-to-day everyday romance.'_"

"What in the world are these?" Will mumbled to himself.

"_'Ah, should I add just one more?'_" And here, Percy looked the most uncomfortable, as if he wanted to be swallowed by the ground. "_'Number 4, a provocative and unconventional rated 18+ concept.'_"

"What?!" Will was on the edge of hysteric with those words, a little blush even coming to his cheeks.

"Just for reference, the CEO told me to tell you that number... _4_... is his preference." Percy coughed a little, showing his discomfort. "Please pick one. Which one do you like?"

"What do I pick? What is this?" Will tried to wrap his head around the idea, not expecting an answer back to him.

"The CEO was told to pay back his life debt with a sweet romance."

"No, no I was just saying it." Will confessed, a little horrified. "Just because of that, how can he do this as if it's a business matter, numbering them 1,2,3,4. Did I ever ask him to write a business proposal using romance?" He ranted, clearly not expecting that.

"That's his style." Percy justified his boss, though it sounded like he didn't want to this time. "You have to pick, for us to prepare it better."

"Really? I have to seriously pick one?"

"Yes." Sighing, Will realized this was going for real, which is why he decided to take it a bit seriously.

"What did you say number 4 is?

"Unconventional and provocative rated 18+..."

"No, no not that." Will waved his hands to stop Percy from talking. _Definitely, not that one..._ "Number 1?"

"Yes, a Prince Charming concept with a fancy party-"

"No... Number 3?"

"Then let's make it a simple everyday romance."

"No, wait a moment. I'm curious about a fancy party..." Will admitted to himself but Percy took it as the definitive answer.

"Then, number 1-"

"Ah wait!" Will stopped him. "You're impatient. Number 3." Will finally decided though his fingers had a slight mind of his own.

"That's number 4." Percy pointed out. Will immediately lowered the extra finger. _Why did I lift that finger...?!_

"Number 3." Percy corroborated, nodding. "Okay. Then I'll let the CEO know."

"Wait a moment. I'm locked in here, why is he asking that of me right now?" Will wanted to know. _Was there a reason for all that asking?_

"You'll get out soon."

"How?"

"For that, you should listen to a detailed explanation from the lawyer." With that, Percy left to the lawyer the even more weird explanation.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nico was having a meeting of his own.

"CEO, the Head Supervisor is here." The secretary announced after knocking on his door. The woman didn't need a reply to let in Poseidon Jackson, who looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Sir." Nico greeted him, politely. Poseidon had barely moved from his stop near the door. "Come in. Why are you remaining standing?" Nico tried to do this as informal as possible but the standing of his uncle wasn't helping.

And Nico knew exactly what was the reason for his shocking expression.

"You're getting married?"


	21. Episode 7, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 7: Part 3**

* * *

_Previously..._

"You're getting married?"

* * *

"_Marriage_?" Repeated a completely shocked Will.

If that was what Nico thought it was a good plan, Will didn't want to hear a bad one...

"It's registering a marriage on paper." The lawyer explained patiently to him. "We are making it so that you both had registered your marriage last year in Europe."

"We are not going to register our marriage, but already did so?!" Will felt some reassurance that he wasn't insane. He was indeed hearing he _had married Nico last year_...?

"Yes." It was obvious the lawyer knew what he was doing because he was practically treating him as a child. "You, Will Solace, have two problems. Your identity can't be confirmed and the reason that you didn't testify in the first place, but ran away. In fact, you were with him during the time of the attack on the roof. Stating that, you avoided testifying because your elopement might be found out is the most credible and guaranteed method."

If he could, Will would pass out at that moment.

* * *

"You're going to register your marriage with Will Solace?" Poseidon Jackson wanted to be sure his nephew was not playing tricks on him.

"I think I have to do that. There's no other way to get him out." Nico explained to him, serious.

"No matter how fake of testimony it may be, registering the marriage is overboard no?" Poseidon insisted on him. "Legally becoming a married couple, means you can't do anything about it anymore."

"If nothing else can be done, then I'll just live with him then." Nico joked about the situation though internally didn't mind one bit.

"With a man whose identity is unknown... What are you going to later about your finances then?" It was obvious that Poseidon was looking after his nephew but he lacked the information that Nico did have.

And he wasn't going to spread it around.

"I know his identity. Also, there's no meaning to my wealth."

"What?"

"Wealth means nothing to me now. That's why I asked you to meet me." Nico returned the meeting to its original purpose. "I also want to quit trying to find the real culprit. I give up on catching the criminal. I hope you'd stop it here, too sir."

"What are you talking about?" This meeting was full of surprises for Poseidon.

"There's no longer any significance for me. I don't have any right to anymore either."

"You, have something that you wanted to tell me didn't you?" Poseidon suddenly remembered. "After you came back from visiting Will Solace in the facility- after that, you definitely said something. I heard it, but I don't remember." He then looked at his nephew, concerned. "You said there were moments you don't remember. I know what you were saying. I experienced that. I was definitely on the phone, but when I regained my concentration, I couldn't remember what happened after that. You couldn't be found for an entire day too." Nico listened to what had happened after he left the manhwa and turned serious.

"Yes." He admitted.

"Did you possibly go to another dimension?"

"Yes."

"Where is that?"

"I can't tell you." Nico confessed to his uncle

"Why?"

"If you know, it'll be too hard for you, sir." Nico sort of explained to him. "To the point where you can't handle it. So I can't tell you."

"You're making me so frustrated. You told me as much, but now you can't tell me?"

"Yes, I definitely can't ever. There are two things I can tell you." Here, Poseidon was intrigued by his words. "I found out what kind of man Will Solace is. He isn't the unidentified crazy person I worried about. And there's no problem for him to become my husband. Although it's worrisome whether he can always be by my side. Also, the need to find the criminal has disappeared. Please don't ask the reason. I'm going to close the W Project."

"Then answer this, why did you go to the Hudson River?" Poseidon wasn't leaving the meeting without that answer. "Why did you fall in?"

"Because I wanted to die since I didn't know how to live." Nico confessed, not even looking at his uncle. "I still feel the same way, but I have thoughts of living now. So, I have to deliberate a bit more. How I'm going to live now." He reassured his uncle.

He knew this was far from being over.

* * *

"The suspect is a 3rd generation Italian-American, who on May first met Nico di Angelo while he was on a business trip to Europe. And in September, they were married in London. Is this correct?"

Will had been dressed up with an elegant suit and was hearing the judge that was seated in front of him, reading the '_facts_' of why he hadn't come forward or testified about the events that had happened. Though mentally he was trying to think who would have come up with such a great story, he was forced to reply with one word.

"Yes."

"Is it true that at the time of arrest, you were living with Nico di Angelo at the New York Promenade Hotel's penthouse?"

"Yes." _Not like you imagine anyway..._

"At the time of the attack, is the reason you ran away from the scene of the crime because the two of you were at a serious cross-roads enough to consider divorce." _Divorce?! _"According to Nico di Angelo, the news of your relationship being discovered was burdensome. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

Soon, the questions were over and he and Nico's lawyer were out of the judge's office. He thought everything would be over then but Percy, who had been waiting on the other side of the door at Nico's orders, surprised him.

"First, put on the ring." He opened a velvet box that was in his hand and showed him the ring that was inside. Will stared at the ring, a simple gold wedding band but the meaning behind it was bigger than the ring itself.

"Is this the wedding ring?" Will asked foolishly.

"Yes. There are many watching eyes, so it would be good if you wore it from now on." Percy explained while prompting Will to wear it. Will obliged at watched it a few seconds. "Let's go. Please wear these, too." To Will's astonishment, Percy gave him a pair of sunglasses.

"Why?"

"You will know once you go outside." Percy's enigmatic reply made sense once they were out of the building. It wasn't sunny enough to fear dark sunglasses but they helped with something else.

The flashes of the reporters' cameras.

Completely taken by surprise, Will allowed Percy to guide him into the car, avoiding the questions and shouts in his direction. Not as if Will would have known what to answer to them. The overwhelming sensation of the flashes was enough to make him want to escape. _At least the statement given to the judge about our 'marriage' being discovered by the media now is true..._

The rest of the ride was silent. Will because he was still overwhelmed by the situation and Percy because he was used to the silence made by Nico. The conversation was non-existent and, by the time they arrived back to the hotel, Will was of the thought that the ride was eternal.

But the surprises didn't end there.

Percy climbed into the elevator with him, all the way up to the penthouse. The first thing Will saw as soon as the doors opened were two lines of people waiting for them.

"Oh my God!" Will placed a hand on his chest, shocked by their presence. He almost slipped in his place.

"He has arrived." Percy announced as if this was normal. Seconds later, Will was greeted with a wave of bows and the words '_Hello, Master._' were ringing on his ears.

"M-Master, they called me Master." He whispered at Percy, who simply coughed and spoke loudly.

"I said you were coming, so everyone was waiting." With that explanation, Percy continued. "Let's greet them. This is our Security Team, lead by Frank Zhang. You already know them, right?"

"Yes, well." Will did remember them from when he was arrested. At least, they were trying to help him.

"And this side is our hotel staff." Percy acknowledged the other line of people where, who seemed to be the housekeeper, greeted him again.

"Nice to meet you, Master."

"Nice to meet you." Will returned the greeting before realizing something when Percy took him to the master bedroom.

"Even though... Really... Are you seriously telling me to live with the CEO, in the same bedroom?"

"Yes. You two are a married couple after all. You should share a room." Though Percy seemed to be stating something obvious, he sounded a bit uncomfortable, so he added something in low voice. "Employees are watching."

"But this is a bit..." Will began complaining but was stopped when the housekeeper walked in- apparently from the bathroom.

"Master, the bathwater is ready." Percy took that as his cue.

"Wash up, then rest. The CEO will arrive in the evening. I'll be taking my leave." After a slight nod to his direction, both 'employees' left Will alone in the master bedroom with his thoughts.

"Marriage...? Did I really get married?" He really couldn't believe it. But it was real. And what made it more real were the headlines in the newspapers!

_"What is the identity of Mr. Solace, who got married to CEO di Angelo in secret?"_

_"Who is CEO di Angelo's man?"_

_"CEO di Angelo secretly marries a handsome man. A handsome doctor?"_

At least in this world, he was married.

* * *

After a bath- a very well done bath, by the way, Will felt better.

"Now that I showered, I feel like I can finally live." He mumbled to himself after getting dressed. He was checking himself in the mirror to see if he needed a shave when the housekeeper walked in and placed a glass of water on the bureau. "Thank you." _What a service, indeed..._

It was moving his hand around his chin what prompted him to watch to his hand. His left hand. _Still can't believe I'm married... Mom is gonna flip is she ever finds out and I didn't tell her!_ His eyes started to wander around the bathroom and started to notice everything was in pairs. Despite being from the same gender, Will noticed how products were aligned in sets of two. One for him. One for Nico. _There are two of everything..._ He casually grabbed one of Nico's things and was so absorbed in his thinking that he never saw Nico leaning against the wall.

"It isn't like men's products only exist in this world." Startled, Will dropped whatever was in his hands, loudly, and stood up. He tried to set it right before pretending that nothing happened, covering the sink with his body.

"Wh- When did you arrive?" He tried to sound confident.

"Really?" Nico smirked at him and Will avoided looking at him.

"Let's just skip this."

"Let it pass?"

"Just let it pass, please!" Will begged, making Nico keep the smirk on his face. "We haven't seen each other for several days. Must you tease me?" That did make Nico chuckle which surprised Will. "Why are you laughing?"

"Well, because seeing your face makes me happy." _That was an unexpected answer..._

"You didn't even come to visit me, once." Will argued with him, almost pouting.

"I was very busy." Nico excused himself, sighing. "It isn't easy to have an unplanned marriage. I had to quickly come up with a non-existing romantic love story and adjust it to my business trip schedule, and to memorize lies and give testimonies." _As excuses go, it's not bad... however..._

"That's what I'm saying. You went way too far all of a sudden." Will emphasized, trying to sound upset. "I said I like a sweet romance. When did I say I wanted to get married?"

"We can just do the sweet things now." Nico compromised to him. "I even studied very hard."

"Studied?" Will repeated, perplexed.

"Oh, right. There is something else I have to do here." Nico snapped his fingers before pointing at him, walking backward to the door. "Stay right there." Will watched him go, half of him not understanding anything. His other half, however...

"Why does my heart keep..." He scolded himself softly, patting the place his heart was. After calming down, curiosity won the best of Will who headed towards the door the same moment Nico walked back in again. "Oh my!"

"Oh, don't come out." Nico pushed him back to the bureau and sat down a very confused Will. "Sit down." He stood behind him. "This is the first time I am doing this so I don't know if it will work."

"What?" Will wanted to check, but Nico kept his head from looking behind him- even though he had a mirror the size of the wall in front of him.

"While looking through this book, there was something about combing hair."

"What?" Will repeated, this time clearly out of the loop.

"When I asked the lady employees to do some research, they bought me this book." He showed him a book titled '_Easy and Lovely. That's How It Is_', surprising Will. It had a hand-drawing cover of a couple. "They said this book has every sweet and simple romantic behavior that women like."

"I'd like to point out that we're not man and woman..." Will felt the need to say that. "And just because I like sweet romance doesn't make me the girl..." He tried to glance behind him but Nico didn't let him.

"Stay still for a moment." Nico insisted, prompting a chuckle from Will.

"What are you doing? Are you going to comb it?"

"Yes." Was Nico's only reply and Will had to let him. Instead, he decided to inspect the book a little and soon enough, he found a drawing of a couple in a bathroom. The woman was seated in front of a bureau and the man was behind her, combing her hair. The caption of '_Comb your girlfriend's hair_' explained the drawing, though it was useless as it was self-explanatory.

"You studied by reading this?" Will was impressed. Even though the book could not apply to them, Nico was making the effort. Which impressed the Hell out of Will.

"I had to study because I didn't know about this stuff." He justified himself. "You told me to pay back the debt, but I don't know anything. I do study hard when I'm asked to." Will said nothing and smiled to himself. "Do you like this?"

"Come again?"

"Is this sweet?" _I could get a cavity from this..._

"I like it."

"Is that so? That is good." Nico smiled at him, still focused on his task. "This is fascinating. Why is this sweet?" He asked in curiosity and Will couldn't but tease him through the mirror, putting on his most fake-upsetting face.

"CEO di Angelo did major in Engineering in college indeed."

"Why?"

"This is your first time doing these kinds of things, right?" Nico saw nowhere to go and answered, a bit ashamed.

"Yes." That made both of them chuckle a bit.

"I didn't know you had this side to you since I have never seen it." Will confessed to him.

"Pick anything else you want to do from there. If I work hard, we can finish 10 a day." Nico assured him, making Will raise an eyebrow at him.

"Are you trying to finish this like homework?" Will argued. _I'm not homework..._

"Shouldn't we do as many as we can while we can?" Nico argued back. "I don't know when I won't get to see you again." That damped the mood, making Will look back at him with a pang of sadness and seriousness that forced Nico to keep talking. "Don't look at me like that. You might disappear again." He reasoned with him, trying to take back his words but showing it was the truth. "Nowadays my heart might be malfunctioning, I am wavering too easily. Stop doing things like crying or confessing, if you want to stay with me for a long time." He pleaded, dropping the comb down. "I can't do this. This is too hard." Too hard...? "Let's say we did this one since I did comb it."

"Yes." Will humored him, smiling. "You did very well." Nico chuckled while Will turned back to the book.

"What else should we do? We still have time before dinner." Nico suggested before snapping his fingers. "Oh, right. You can't read the book like this." That took Will by surprise. _How was he supposed to read the book then...?_ He took the book from Will's hand and made him stood up before leading him outside the bathroom. "Come here."

"What are you going to do?" Will's curiosity and mouth were faster than his brain catching up. As soon as they got near the bed, Nico tossed the book on top of it and pushed away a pillow before pulling Will's arm strong enough for him to sit on the edge of the bed. The shocks didn't end there when Nico decided to straddle him and hover over him, close. Will stared at him with open eyes until Nico began chuckling at him. _Was he teasing me again...?!_ Soon, positions were switched, with Nico laying down in bed with his arm stretched over Will's pillow and Will sitting up, not even facing him. _What was he thinking...?!_

"Lie down." Nico told him, patting the place on his shoulder. Will glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Impatiently, Nico pulled from Will and forced him to land on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around him. "Hey!"

"It said we should read the book like this." Nico explained casually while picking up the until-then-forgotten book. Will swore his girly side was showing and for once, he didn't mind much. "Page 172. Here it is." Nico showed him the drawing of it, a couple reading a book on a couch, tangled similarly to them now.

"You even memorized the page numbers?" _Did he really...?_

"I told you I studied very hard." Nico repeated, making Will chuckle while passing the pages. "Look. What else is in here?" The next drawing was of a couple in the supermarket. "There is also going grocery shopping together. Do women find grocery shopping sweet?"

"You said it, _women_." Will argued, playfully. "They think is sweet when guys carry the grocery basket and deliberating on what to eat."

"Then, let's go grocery shopping later."

"May I point out, again, we're not man and woman?" Will tried though Nico's smirk meant he knew and was only teasing him. "Really?" Nico nodded and Will simply decided to stop thinking and enjoy it.

"Tying shoelaces. This too?" Nico pointed the next page, a guy crouched down tying the girl's shoes.

"That's nice." Though Will wasn't talking about that. More like it was nice to feel Nico's cheek pressed against his hair.

"What about this?" The next page showed the couple making dinner together but Will was not paying attention to that. His focus was actually on Nico's left hand... which had the same ring he was wearing at the moment.

That, more than anything, made the whole deal real.

"I like it."

"And this?" Nico passed pages again and showed the man kissing the woman's temple. Will said absolutely nothing and looked somewhere else. "This is easy." He stated before planting a kiss on his forehead. Deciding it was enough of him being embarrassed, Will cleared his throat a little.

"You're not treating this like homework to pay back your debt, right?" He checked, looking away from him just in case he said something stupid.

"If I am not?"

"It seems like you are enjoying this more." Will narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at him, a bit playfully. As an initial response, Nico tossed the book aside and narrowed his eyes back.

"As if." He mumbled before leaning over a smiling Will until...

"CEO."

Both Will and Nico literally jumped in bed the second they heard Frank's voice, separating themselves and trying to act as if nothing had happened. Even Frank had the decency of turning around at the situation, which made the whole thing even more awkward.

"Woah. Don't you know how to knock?" Nico scolded him.

"Sorry. I haven't adjusted to you being married." Frank admitted, not having to turn his back again to see him. Will wished to be swallowed by the ground in that second.

"What is the matter?" Nico questioned him. _Yeah, what could be so important at this time of the night...?_

"Your cousin Percy asked to see you at the rooftop veranda." Frank informed. Trying to keep himself out of it, Will grabbed the forgotten book and began to read it. Or pretend to...

"Why didn't he come in personally?"

"I don't know."

"I got it." With no more words, or even looking at his boss, Frank left the room. Will kept hiding his face on the book so he missed Nico's smirk at him. "Mark all the things you want to do today." He startled him, stroking his hair. "I keep telling you this, but I like 18+ rated." Nico winked at him, making Will gasp. To top it all, Nico mocked him with a gasp of his own. before leaving. To all that, there was only one thing in Will's mind.

"My heart hurts."

* * *

A chuckling Nico turned into a serious one as soon as he answered his phone on the elevator to the rooftop.

The screen read '_Unavailable Number_' but Nico answered anyway.

"Hello?" He spoke the first time. "He..." He began to repeat when getting no answer until he heard a static noise and, in front of him, floating letters appeared.

**_"Where are you?"_** Nico's eyebrows did a frown, not understanding the situation. **_"How did you come back to life?"_** Worried, Nico pressed the emergency button of the elevator and seconds later, the call was cut.

_"CEO? CEO, did something happen?"_ A voice spoke over the speakers while Nico kept looking around the tiny space.

"No... No." He tried to sound confident but this was strange.

_"Why did you press the emergency button then?"_

"Nevermind, I accidentally pressed it." Nico lied.

_"Understood."_ The employee's voice soon went back to his work and Nico stared at his phone with a new sense of danger. As the only one aware of this not being the real world, something must be off.

Soon, he was in the rooftop where Percy was waiting for him.

"Cousin!"

"CEO di Angelo!" Percy replied, formally.

"Can you track the phone number?" Nico ignored for a second that had been Percy who wanted to meet him and decided to take care of his worries first.

"What number?" Percy was in working mode, looking at the phone Nico was holding.

"The call that came to this phone five minutes ago. Find out the transmitting location and number for me. It was a bit strange." Nico explained to him.

"I got it." Percy assured him, serious.

"But why did you not come in and call me here?" Nico wanted to know, now that his worries were taken care of- sort of speaking.

"Mr. Will is there." Percy acknowledged. "I don't think this is something to be said there." That only piqued Nico's curiosity.

"What happened?" Percy began pulling something out of his pocket and handed it to Nico. On the envelope, the title '_Letter of resignation_' was visible.

"Reyna wrote a letter of resignation." Percy told him. Nico only listened to him. "I met her a while ago, and she told me to give it to you. I tried to convince her to talk to you but she wouldn't listen."

"Tell her to rest for a few days. I'll talk to her." Nico promised to him. _Was I a bit harsh when I last talked to her...?_

"Okay." Percy looked slightly reassured. "But, you know..." He seemed to want to say something but it was hard to explain. "Just listen to me. It's so strange. We were saying goodbye, shaking hand when suddenly... her hand disappeared!"

"Her hand disappeared?" Nico repeated, hiding his curiosity.

"Like a ghost... Like a ghost, her hand looked transparent." Percy tried to explain, becoming agitated. "I know this doesn't make sense, but I saw. Did I go crazy then?" Percy spoke the last part to himself and Nico said nothing.

_What was happening...?_

He went back to the penthouse, Reyna's resignation letter in his hand and his mind of Percy's words when the housekeeper walked in.

"CEO, how about dinner?" She consulted him.

"Please prepare it. I'll eat it." Nico told her.

"But Master is sleeping." Did Will fall_ asleep?_

"He's sleeping?" He checked with her. The woman simply nodded her head and followed her boss into the room where, in effect, Will was asleep holding tight of the book he had been reading. "I'll eat with him when he wakes up." Nico said though the housekeeper didn't look happy.

"You must be hungry." She insisted but Nico simply gave her a small smile.

"It's okay."

"Okay." The woman took it as her cue and left the room while Nico sat by the edge of the bed to simply watch Will. Slowly, he pulled out the book he held in his hands and noticed the number of marks that were stuck on the edges of the pages. "You put so many in." He mumbled to himself, smirking. He glanced at him, debating if waking him up or not when his phone rang again. And seeing the words '_Unavailable Number_' again set him on his guard.

Before even answering the phone, Nico walked to the other side of the bed and pulled out the gun he always hid under the pillow.

"Hello?"

**_"I asked, where are you?"_** Out of instinct, Nico pulled his gun directly at the floating words that appeared in front of him. **_"How did come back? How did you go back?"_** Nico looked around, not clear in what or where he should be searching. **_"How dare you try to die? Do you know I much I waited for you?"_**

"Who are you?" Nico finally managed to ask between his fear and anger.

_**"What do you mean who? Don't you know me?"** Should I know you, whoever you are...? **"I killed your family. Ten years ago, at your house."**_ That set the alarms on Nico's head. Apollo Solace had answered him that questions, the words resonating in his mind.

_"There isn't one. There is no real culprit. You were just a predetermined configuration from the beginning. A predetermined configuration to make the protagonist stronger."_

"You... Who are you?" Nico finally showed a little fear but his anger was showing more at the sight of the floating taunting words.

_**"I killed your parents and younger siblings. With just four shots, I managed to shoot them in their foreheads. I'm a gifted shooter, just like you. So you have to find me. Why did you die without finding me?"** Was this person scolding me?! **"You can't die right now. The end... It will only be the end when we fight to the end once and for all. I saw you have a new family now."**_ Nico's grip on his gun tightened. **_"Now, it's that man's turn."_** Nico glanced at Will's sleeping figure for a second. **_"I will make a hole in his forehead with a gun. Wait."_**

"He- Hello?"

But the call was hung and for the first time in many years, Nico was scared.

Now, he could lose what he finally found.

He could lose Will forever...


	22. Episode 8, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 8: Part 1**

* * *

_Previously..._

Nico glanced at Will, debating if waking him up or not when his phone rang again. And seeing the words '_Unavailable Number_' again set him on his guard.

Before even answering the phone, Nico walked to the other side of the bed and pulled out the gun he always hid under the pillow.

"Hello?"

**_"I asked, where are you?"_** Out of instinct, Nico pulled his gun directly at the floating words that appeared in front of him. **_"How did come back? How did you go back?"_** Nico looked around, not clear in what or where he should be searching. **_"How dare you try to die? Do you know I much I waited for you?"_**

"Who are you?" Nico finally managed to ask between his fear and anger.

_**"What do you mean who? Don't you know me?"** Should I know you, whoever you are...? **"I killed your family. Ten years ago, at your house."**_ That set the alarms on Nico's head. Apollo Solace had answered him that questions, the words resonating in his mind.

_"There isn't one. There is no real culprit. You were just a predetermined configuration from the beginning. A predetermined configuration to make the protagonist stronger."_

"You... Who are you?" Nico finally showed a little fear but his anger was showing more at the sight of the floating taunting words.

_**"I killed your parents and younger siblings. With just four shots, I managed to shoot them in their foreheads. I'm a gifted shooter, just like you. So you have to find me. Why did you die without finding me?"** Was this person scolding me?! **"You can't die right now. The end... It will only be the end when we fight to the end once and for all. I saw you have a new family now."**_ Nico's grip on his gun tightened. **_"Now, it's that man's turn."_** Nico glanced at Will's sleeping figure for a second. **_"I will make a hole in his forehead with a gun. Wait."_**

"He- Hello?"

Still focused on the killer's words, Nico missed that Will was waking up.

"When did you arrive?" He greeted him, with a small smile until he saw his face. "What's wrong?" Nico luckily had already hidden the gun and sat on the bed with him.

"Back then... what was the reason that '**The End**' changed into '**To Be Continued**'?"

"What?" Will wondered, not fully understanding his words.

"You said the text changed." Nico insisted and Will began paying attention to him. "You said that the end of the manhwa changed into to be continued, so you were able to save me."

"I don't know, it just changed." Will admitted

"'_Just_'?" Nico insisted a bit.

"There might be a reason why it's not yet." Will reasoned before adding. "I don't know the reason as well. Why? What's wrong?" Before Nico could even debate whether or not to tell him, he heard a knock on the door and his hand flew to his back, where he had hidden his gun.

"CEO." The housekeeper walked in, ignoring the situation.

"Yes?"

"Master's suits are here." Nico let out a huge sigh of relief and nodded.

"Yes." That prompted a look from Will.

"A _suit_?" As a reply, Nico smirked softly and let him follow the housekeeper to find out.

Once alone, he looked over at the number that had called him- even though the number did not appear. But a new sense of determination was filling him.

He may have given up searching for the killer of his family.

But he was sure as Hell that he wouldn't let the faceless bastard to kill Will too.

* * *

Will followed the housekeeper to what seemed a second closet. Inside, three assistants were waiting for them, all of them holding hangers with different styles of suits.

"Hello, Master." They greeted him, making him nod in acknowledgment. _Gotta get used to that..._

"Ah, yes."

"Nice to meet you." One of them- a young girl -seemed to be the spokesperson for the three. "We didn't know your preference, so we picked different styles." Will could see a red one, a black one, a striped one, a flowery one, and to his surprise, a salmon one.

"Ah, I see..." He mumbled, still unsure of why he needed a suit now.

"Here, you have a salmon look, and here a more simple look." Will simply listened and turned to Nico who just walked in.

"What's that?" Will's tone was a little restrictive as if trying not to snap at him for not telling him why he was surrounded by suits.

"Right, I told you I've studied about parties." Nico began his explanation, serious. "Choice number one with a Prince Charming concept where a fancy party takes place. I heard that you struggled to choose because of that one." _Did he pay attention to that? Impressive..._ "I was trying to think of a party where you could wear a suit, and I received an invitation to a state dinner."

"A state dinner?" Will sounded as surprised as he was.

"It's taking place at the White House, so pick carefully." Will's eyes opened wide at Nico's reply.

"The _White House_?" He repeated to an amuse Nico. "I'm going to _the_ White House?" He whispered at him, ignoring Nico's ringing phone. Nico leaned and spoke in a slighter high tone.

"Just for reference purposes, I'd like to add that the more revealing the better I like it." How he managed to say that in a straight face, Will will be forever clueless but the look he gave to the assistant before leaving meant he was not completely joking with him.

"A revealing one? I think this one is the most revealing." The assistant was quick to comply with her boss' request but Will immediately stopped her.

"No! He's just fooling around." He assured her quickly, though he wasn't sure anymore.

He was not picking a revealing suit!

* * *

Nico answered Percy's call in his office.

"So, did you look into it?"

_"We can't confirm the location and there's no number. It's a bit strange."_ Percy acknowledged. _"Who called you?" Not like I can tell you, cousin..._

"Look more into it." Nico finally said before hanging up. He then decided to do something that he hadn't done in some time.

Write a report about the search

**_W Project. The 353rd report._**

**_August 2019. Writer: Nico di Angelo._**

**_All the reports up till now were all a waste._**

**_From this point, I am going to establish a completely new hypothesis._**

**_The real culprit exists._**

**_The real criminal exists._**

**_But because the god didn't give him an identity, he has none._**

**_He has no face nor identity._**

**_He was born to kill my family._**

**_Therefore, he has no guilt about the murders whatsoever._**

**_He feels no sadness and no pleasure either._**

**_The reason being, he has no personality._**

**_Him leaving me a deep trauma was only a means to give me the motive to throw myself into the world of violent criminals._**

**_He appears when it is needed in the story, but vanishes when he's not._**

**_Where he is from, or what kind of face he has._**

**_According to the capricious will of the creator, without any logical reasoning, he can appear anytime to murder._**

* * *

After trying all the suits that were brought and bought for him, Will decided to use the slightly blue-and-white-striped one.

In his opinion, he looked pretty handsome in it. However, and since he had paid for the lot, he decided Nico should take a look at it.

"Hmm, what exactly could a state dinner be?" He mumbled to himself, curious. "Aren't distinguished guests of states people like the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom? Do they dance? _Dance_?" It was in his muses that he remembered one tiny detail. "Oh, I'm terrible at dancing... Do they do dances like waltzes?"

To the surprise of all the guards that were on the visual range, Will began waltzing around the penthouse, pretending he was holding onto someone's arms. Just as Will was laughing softly at his silliness, he wasn't the only one. Behind him, Frank and another guard were holding their waves of laughter, either because things were too serious around or because Will was definitely silly.

Thankfully, Will was never to know that.

* * *

Nico was so absorbed into his report he barely missed the knock announcing Will's presence.

"May I come in?" He asked him, gently. Without waiting for a reply, he took a step in, giving a full turn. "How do I look? Everyone said I look the best in this one." Nico kept staring at him, totally missing the point of Will's current visit. In his mind, the killer's words made echo.

_"Now it's that man's turn... I'll make a hole in his forehead with a gun... Wait..."_

Sadly, Will took his silent and stare as a bad thing.

"It's weird. I look strange, right?" He was mostly talking to himself, rubbing his neck. "Don't say anything, just skip it. I understand." He had taken the wrong impression and Nico was not even noticing.

"Go back."

"I'm leaving. I said I'm leaving." Will repeated before looking at himself. "Do I look that strange?"

"Go back home. It's dangerous here." Nico finally elaborated a little more in his statement, leaving Will confused.

"What?"

"Is there no way for you to go back?" Nico insisted to him.

"How could I suddenly go back?" Will wondered, still a bit confused. "It's not like I can go back whenever I want to." He reminded him. "But why are you like this since earlier?" Before Nico could even explain Will why, a loud gunshot was heard. Nico felt a second had turned into eternity between turning to see his through-by window cracked and Will who had a bleeding gunshot between his eyes and was collapsing to the floor.

_No..._

Nico managed to slowly peak from his desk to the floor to find... absolutely nothing. His loud sigh of relief reflected on his face, along with the voice he just thought he'll never hear again.

"Why are you like this?" Will repeated, looking curiously at him. While Nico was in his mind, Will had walked closer to his desk. Nico wasted no time and embraced him in a tight hug.

* * *

It took some convincing, but Will was now accompanying Nico to his state dinner.

And he was so nervous he alone had drunk his whole glass of champagne.

"Make sure you smile as you get out of the car. They'll be taking pictures." Nico reminded him. _Please, no more reminders..._ He was still wearing the suit from before while Nico had chosen a simple black suit with a white shirt. He even had added a bowtie which, in Will's mind, made him look like a penguin.

"What do I do? I don't think I can do this. I really can't do these types of things!" Will was on the edge of a nervous breakdown and was regretting convincing Nico for this!

"Just hold my hand and follow my lead. Ok?" Nico reassured him with a smile, holding his hand tightly. Will relaxed enough to smile back at him.

Nico wasn't kidding about people taking pictures. It seemed like every paparazzi of the country wanted to be there to take a glimpse of them. Arriving in a white limousine was like a beacon that someone important was arriving. Will managed to put out a fake smile while Nico simply showed a professional smile and they walked past the reporters that were waiting for everyone- though it seemed they were the most important guests.

The dreaded part for Will arrived when they were invited to dance. While nothing against dancing with Nico, Will did have a problem with dancing itself. His panicked face didn't help much and Nico had to reassure him with a smile and guiding him around the ballroom.

It was going great, Will could even ignore the flashes of the cameras or the spotlight on them. It was just a moment for them. It was then when his clumsiness decided to pay a visit and his ankle wouldn't support his step, making him slip...

...only to fall from the bed.

"Ow!" Was Will's immediate reaction, laying on the floor, sheets wrapped around him included. Frank, who was on guard outside the room, got in immediately to assured what had happened.

"Master! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Will replied, trying to keep his little dignity. When Frank leaned down to help him get up, Will got up immediately from the floor. "It's okay." He repeated, hoping that Frank didn't notice that he was hurting on his back because of the fall. Frank then decided to help with the fallen sheets but Will wanted his embarrassment to be over soon. "It's fine, I can do it."

"What happened?" _I spoke too soon..._

"He fell off the bed while sleeping." _Thanks a lot, Frank... Now I won't be able to live it down..._

"Are you okay?" Nico asked him.

"Yes, I'm fine." Will insisted.

"It's alright. You can leave." Nico told Frank who left the room, leaving Will alone with Nico, both of them sitting on the bed. "Why did you fall off while sleeping?" He wanted to know, a small smirk coming out his lips.

"Just... while I was dreaming." Will admitted.

"What kind of dream?" _Is he gonna interrogate me...?_

"Just... a nice dream..."

"A nice dream?" _Alright, enough teasing!_

"Did you not sleep? It's around 3 AM." _Aha! Try to evade that one!_

"Everyone's protecting you, so don't worry and sleep some more." _Eh? How did he do that? Was it the stroke of my hair...?_

"But I was wondering..." Will stopped Nico from leaving, making him look at him. "Do I _have_ to have guards?" He whispered the question, trying not to offend poor Frank standing outside. "I mean, the door's open and it feels like people are always looking at me so I can't sleep..."

"We don't know when they might come out, so there's nothing we can do but this." Nico tried to explain to him. Will seemed upset until he gasped, smiling.

"I can't die here!" He remembered, smiling. "I will never die here remember? I'm invincible here! Why are you worrying about what the murderer said?" He tried to reassure him but Nico didn't look convinced.

"A variable." Nico mentioned serious, while sitting down. "There isn't a principle in the world without a variable. Would anyone have known that a culprit without a true form would turn up from nowhere? There is no other way until we know where he is." Will sighed, understanding but not liking it. "Go back to sleep." He suggested to him, stroking his hair again.

"Then, do we just keep living like this?" Will mumbled, looking at him. "I guess we can't go to parties."

"I already canceled that." Nico reminded him.

"I just got out of prison. But I'm living like I'm in a prison here too. I can't even go outside and just have to stay in. You told me to mark everything sweet that I wanted to do. You said we would go grocery shopping and clothes shopping. You said we would do ten things a day but we can't do anything." Will knew he was laying thick with his pleading and his pouting but they were extreme measures! He wasn't good locked in.

"We can't go outside, but should we do something that we can do here?" Nico compromised with him. Will saw it was killing him too, so he agreed. "Are you hungry? I am." Nico grabbed his hand and took him to the kitchen- Frank and another guard following closely. Will tried not to mind much, they were there for their protection, the last thing they wanted was to intrude.

"Should we call someone?" Frank asked Nico who replied without even looking at him.

"No, it's okay. It's the homework that I have to do. Leave." Nico's casual dismissed of the guards made Will more relaxed and now, he was in full curiosity mode. _What were they gonna do...?_ "Wait a moment." Will nodded while looking around the kitchen. "Honestly, there is only one dish I can make."

"What is it?" Will was curious but Nico's answer was gonna disappoint him a little.

"Ramen."

"_Ramen_ is a dish?" Will checked, chuckling.

"Why? I like ramen the best. Plus, I'm Italian-American. It's kind of a pasta dish..." Nico defended himself.

"Okay. Let's make ramen then." Will compromised with him, looking a bit serious though internally wanted to see what Nico had planned.

"Okay. Ramen..." Will could laugh loud when watching Nico searching for the package of ramen everywhere... but the cupboard.

"That's the oven. Why are you opening that?" Will stared at him, seriously trying to hold his laughter.

"Oh, that's right." Nico nodded, looking slightly bashful but taking this as a game.

"Ramen is usually in places like this. It's right here!" Will opened a cupboard and... _Oh surprise, the package of ramen is right here!_

"Oh! You're right!"

"You can leave. I'll make it." Will told him, smirking.

"Hey... I have to do this to finish my homework." Nico argued, leaning against the island's counter while Will grabbed a pot to heat water

"I don't think I can just gloss over things!" Will admitted, glancing at him. "Do it properly for me later. After studying."

"Okay."

"Are there any eggs and green onions?"

"You know how to do ramen from scratch?" Will rolled his eyes and smirked at the impressed Nico while opening the fridge.

"Just because I'm a busy doctor that likes romance doesn't mean I don't know how to cook." He argued playfully. "Plus, takeouts and microwaved food get old soon... Do you want eggs in yours?"

"Yes."

"Oh! They're here." Will announced after finding the eggs and onions.

"There is one thing I don't understand. Why is your father doing that?" Nico tried to get that doubt out of him. "How could he try to kill his son using the culprit?" Will looked at him, frowning. "He's a character that follows what your father commands him."

"I don't know either." Will confessed, confused. "But how could my dad possibly do that to me?"

"Then who would?"

"Who knows?" Will pondered, placing the onions in the counter to cut. "But there's no way Dad drew it. Why would he?" Will defended his father. "And Dad said he wouldn't draw again... ow!" _Should have been paying attention..._ Will scolded himself mentally while seeing the slight cut he had done on his finger while chopping onions. Nico's hand was immediately holding his while Frank and another guard came running after hearing him.

"Are you okay?" Nico saw the cut and took the decision. "Call the nurse." The guards immediately left, leaving a complaining Will behind.

"No, it's okay! If you just bring medication, I'll do it myself!" _Gods above, I'm a doctor!_ "Why are you calling the nurse for something like this?" Will turned to Nico, who had wrapped a tissue over his finger before turning his worried smile to full worry. "What's the matter?" Nico pulled the tissue away and stared at his finger.

"Why are you bleeding?"

"What?"

"Not having one drop of blood is normal, so why are you bleeding?" Finally, it dawned on Will what Nico was trying to say. He was supposed to be invincible- impossible to kill. Then... "This means that if you get shot, you'll die!"

The panic was quick and evident in both faces and, as if it was their cue, the words '**To Be Continued**' appeared behind Will who had enough time to realize what was going to happen before disappearing from Nico's kitchen back to his world.


	23. Episode 8, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 8: Part 2**

* * *

As soon as Will was back in his world, he decided to be practical.

First, he took care of his bleeding finger though the question remained to him.

"What's going on? Why is it bleeding?" He wondered before Nico's words came back to his mind.

_"Variable. There are no principles in this world without variables."_

He decided to check on the manhwa, to see the development of the story while he was away after healing his fingertip. Once that was done, he sat on Kayla's desk to see the manhwa. Upfront was the '_meeting_' the killer had with Nico during the night. To see what Nico had faced was slightly worrying for him.

"The real criminal knows me? How?" He wondered before scrolling down the manhwa. What he saw next really chilled his blood and made him finally understand why Nico was so adamant to make him go back.

Will saw himself being shot to death.

Seeing the reason why Nico decided to isolate him from the world made much more sense now. Out of instincts, Will touched his forehead as if checking there was no hole in there. Soon, his sight turned to his bandaged finger.

Now, he was in real danger.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nico had been pacing around the kitchen the second after Will disappeared.

His mind could not be wrapped around what could have changed that made Will bleed. Gods, he had shot him in the chest to prove a point and he wasn't even bleeding over that! The questions kept piling in his mind but he would eventually return to the same three.

_What changed?_

_Why did the variables appear?_

_What is the context?_

Nico spent the whole early morning going around the same questions without finding an answer. At first sight of sunlight, he decided it was enough and headed back to his room. His idea was to lay down and possibly catch some sleep but the sight of Will's book all marked made him feel slightly guilty and sad about him not being around.

His thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Hello?" He answered, not checking the ID.

_"Are you sleeping?"_ Reyna's voice answered his first inquiry, the identity of the caller.

"No. What is it at this hour?" Nico sighed. If he was being honest with himself, Reyna was the last person he wanted to talk right now.

_"Can I not call you at this hour?"_ Her voice sounded slurry and with her next sentence, Nico could determine what was happening to her. _"Because your husband is next to you?"_

"Are you drunk again?"

_"Will Solace... Is he sleeping next to you right now?"_ Nico couldn't believe what he was hearing, Reyna was indeed drunk. _"I seriously can't imagine."_ She sobbed over the phone. _"Are you... really married? I know. It's true."_ She added before he could say anything. _"You didn't do anything wrong. And you've never done anything you have to be responsible for. But because I lack sense, I thought things would work out if I kept waiting. I was just a fool! But I wasn't the only one who thought this way. Everyone... thought the same thing..."_

"Reyna-"

_"What am I? Huh? What am I?"_ She ended up screaming at him. _"I'm asking what I was to you."_ Nico could hear her drink through the phone and a sudden gasp caught his attention. _"What's happening?"_

"Hello?" He called her, worried. "Hello? Reyna?" For some reason, at that moment, Percy's words from their last meeting came to mind.

_"Her hand disappeared. Like a ghost. Like a ghost, it was translucent! It doesn't make sense, right? But I definitely saw it!"_

Reyna's panicked scream pulled him out of his thoughts. He immediately changed clothes and rushed out to get his car. Since he couldn't help Will at the moment and their situation didn't have an immediate solution, Nico decided to go help his friend.

It was while driving that the thought came to him.

The reason for this whole mess.

_A character... The purpose of a character._ Finally, Nico's mind was connecting the dots for the questions that were driving him crazy. _Characters get created for a purpose within the storyline..._ He thought of Reyna, he thought of his uncle Poseidon. He, without realizing, was taking away their purposes, the reason why they were created. _When that purpose no longer exists, they dissipate? From this world forever?_ But, what about Will? He wasn't a character, he was a real person who he... married. _Then in turn, when the purpose of a character becomes certain, they get cast as a fixed character. Forcibly? _However, there was one character that didn't follow the pattern. _Then what about the killer? Why hasn't he dissipated when his purpose no longer exists? Possibly on his own? He had an awakening? Like me?_

* * *

In the real world, after trying in vain to contact his father, Will was following the manhwa.

Just as he was reading, Nico's thoughts about what was happening showed up and Will got a better grasp of the situation.

"No way... Have I become a manhwa character?" He asked himself, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "Because I married the main character? Is that why I bleed and I can die, too?" Agitated, he read Nico's final thought and he became more concerned. "The killer... is now out in the real world?"

* * *

_~FLASHBACK~_

_Two months after the night after Nico di Angelo found the truth about his world took his life, two months after the night after Apollo Solace was fighting for his life, someone else was discovering himself._

_The first time the hooded figure appeared was in the same rooftop that had presenced Nico's first step into the real world. He roamed this new world, searching for answers just like Nico had done before._

_His first source of answers wasn't very helpful. It was a drunken man that accidentally bumped with him and even decided to pick up a fight._

_"Hey, hey. What are you, huh? Get away. Get out of my way!" The man suddenly screamed and fell to the ground upon finding no face was looking at him._

_**"Where am I? What is this place?"** The hooded figure asked. **"Where's Nico di Angelo?"** He demanded answers but his drunken source wasn't giving them._

_"Who are you? What is this? What-" The man shakily got up and run in the opposite direction, shouting. "Please save me!"_

_His second source of answers provided to be more informative and more shocking at the same time. It had been the cover of a magazine in a window display of a random store. His shock was big, seeing his nemesis, the reason for his existence floating deep in water._

_That forced him to do his first act of vandalism in the real world, smashing the window of the store to only get a hold of the magazine in display and rip it apart._

_Suddenly, he was no longer there. He was standing by the Henry Hudson Bridge, wondering what he had seen just before._

_**"He died? Nico di Angelo died?"** That was the question he wanted the answer for. **"How dare he die? Does he know how long I've waited?"** He was enraged about this. Indeed, who dare his nemesis die before he killed him? **"I've waited 10 years for him to find me. But why is it over? How is this the end?"**_

_"E-Excuse me!" He heard someone talking to him. "Why are you over there? It's dangerous-!" Without even bothering to see who was talking to him, he canalized his rage in the newcomer's voice into committing his second and crueler act in the real world._

_~FLASHBACK~_

~oOo~

_"The criminal followed me out into the real world and became aware of everything and became enraged when he realized that he doesn't exist. The one who wishes for the identity of the criminal to be revealed more than me is him."_

_"He trembled with rage when he found out about my death too late. That person stopped the manhwa from ending. To see the end with me."_

_"And now... Because that person doesn't know how to come back, he's still wandering around over there?"_

~oOo~

Will stared at the clock after changing into some more comfortable clothes.

"He's probably worried, what should I do?" He mused about Nico. He didn't have much time to consider what to do because the phone decided to ring at that moment. "At this time?" He wondered, curious. "Hello?" He answered, not getting a reply. "Hello?" He repeated before fear run through his vein upon seeing words forming out of air.

_**"You.. are you back?"** The killer... **"You're Apollo Solace's son, right? You're Will Solace, right? The man who married Nico di Angelo."**_

Will's only reaction was to hang the phone and throw it away far from him, ignoring that, on the other side of the city, the killer was honoring his tag and doing what he knew to do best.

Will decided to take action and, as much as it hurt him, woke up Kayla who was fast asleep on the couch.

"Hey! Kayla! Kayla, wake up!" The urgency of his voice was accompanied by some soft yet strong pats on her arm, plus the repetition of words. "Hey- Kayla! I said wake up! Hurry!

"W-Why?!" Kayla managed to ask as soon as her eyes were open.

"Hurry and wake up, we have to run away, fast!" Will insisted, pulling her from her arm and heading towards the door.

"What's wrong with you, seriously!?" Kayla wondered from the floor, still half asleep.

"Your car keys! Look for your car keys!" Will instructed her while he picked up a laptop and a drawing tablet. "Hurry-! Did you find your keys?" Will asked again before beginning to push Kayla out of the house.

"W-Why?! What are you doing-Why?!" Kayla wanted to know but was getting no reply from Will. "Seriously, what is it?! First thing in the morning too!"

"Hurry up!" Will turned around the car to sit on the passenger's seat, forcing Kayla to wake up and drive. "G-Go! Hurry! Hurry!"

"I got it! I'll go after I start the engine!" After the engine was on, Will forced Kayla to go around circles for a little bit until Kayla was brave enough to ask why. Or at least, there was no shouting. "Do I just keep going like this? Where do I go?"

"Just go. As far as you can from the house!" Will told her, looking through the windows.

"I'm seriously going mad, what's going on _now_? I'm sick of things happening!" Kayla began to rant, getting angry. "But whatever it is that happened, I don't think I'll be that surprised anymore."

"You... Don't pick up your phone!" Will ordered her, worried. "If you think it's a weird number, just don't pick it up at all!"

"Who would call me?" Kayla said, skeptical, almost jokingly.

"The killer... he's looking for me!" Will informed her and he could see Kayla's smirk almost appearing.

"Killer? What's that supposed to mean?" Kayla's words got no reply from Will but the sight of a black-hooded man standing in the middle of the road, blocking their path said more with fewer words.

"G-G-Go back... Go back!" Will stuttered while patting her arm gently. Kayla stopped the car and became hysterical with reason when seeing the gun the hooded man was carrying and was pointing at them.

"I-Isn't that a gun... That's a gun!"

"Kayla, go in reverse!" Will insisted while Kayla did just that, screaming along.

Sadly, between the hurry and the screamings, Kayla didn't manage to keep the car straight and they hit an electrical pole, forcing them to stop. From that moment on, for Will, everything turned in slow motion.

The hooded man fired his gun, his target was Will's forehead. The bullet was traveling at normal speed but Will sensed it was slowed on purpose, giving him time to notice how the bullet went through the front window and straight into his head.

However, in the last second, he was not there.

He reappeared in another car but this one was on the move.

"Even in the bathtub?" Nico's voice gave away exactly where he was. He sounded like he was talking to someone and the answer came from the speaker of the car.

_"Not here."_

"I'm here..." Will spoke up, getting all of Nico's attention.

Took Nico exactly two seconds to see that Will was in the passenger's seat of his car. He immediately pulled over.

_"CEO? Was that perhaps your husband's voice?"_

"Yeah, I found him. It's fine." Nico hung up on whoever he was talking to and focused sorely on Will. "Are you alright?" Will couldn't even answer, he was panting because of the adrenaline. "I'm asking if you're hurt anywhere!" Nico insisted, looking over him.

"I... I almost died!" Will finally managed to stutter out, not looking at him. "The killer shot a bullet at me!"

"Where?" Nico felt the need to know, even if he didn't want to know.

"They called my dad's home so I picked up... but they appeared right away, in mere minutes!" Will explained, still a bit catatonic. "I ran away but he shot me... and then I came here right when I was about to die!" Will was still catatonic when Nico pulled him into his arms, holding him close and kissing his forehead. It was like a sedative to Will that immediately stopped panting and relaxed in his arms. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and big and finally looked at Nico. "What about Kayla?"

"Who's Kayla?" Nico tried to keep the small amount of jealousy he felt out of the question.

"My dad's pupil... She was in the car with me!" Will continued, getting agitated. "What if he shot her?!"

"You're the target, so he won't touch her without a reason." Nico calmed him down, firmly believing so.

"I'm worried about my mom too..." Will recognized, worried. "What if he goes to her looking for me? What then?!"

Sadly, Nico couldn't answer that one with honesty yet.


	24. Episode 8, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 8: Part 3**

* * *

While Will and Nico wondered what to do, someone else was having a different situation up in the sky.

More precisely, in a flight with destination to New Zealand from New York.

"Excuse me..." A young man addressed an older one. "You're Apollo Solace, right?" Apollo sighed, as he sadly had nowhere to go to hide.

"Yes." He admitted

"I'm a total fan! Could I have an autograph?" Apollo was left with little options as the young man was placing a pad and a pen for him to sign. "I kept wondering if you were since a while ago." The young man kept talking while he signed. "I heard you were injured badly, you must be feeling better though."

"Yes, I'm fine." He recognized, trying to put a polite smile.

"But is '**W**' really over? How about planning a sequel..." Even the clueless of fan would notice that Apollo didn't want to talk about this so the young man quickly added, excusing himself. "I- I just miss it a lot... Please have a safe flight." He left Apollo alone in his seat.

_"Passengers, this is an announcement. In about 30 minutes, our plane will be landing at the Oakland International Airport."_ One stewardess announced through the speaker before passing to repeat the same messages in different languages.

"Are we all here? I'm so sick of this!" One of Apollo's friends, Hyacinthus, yawned while waking up from his sleep. He even tried to stretch himself in the tiny space. Apollo ignored him and decided to go to the bathroom before landing.

It was here when everything turned weird.

Because when Apollo was washing his hands, on the mirror, floating letters began forming a sentence.

**_"Who am I...?"_** Apollo looked around the tiny bathroom and saw no one, except more floating words. **_"Where's Nico di Angelo?"_** The words kept on appearing and Apollo was sensing fear in himself. **_"Who am I? Why won't you tell me who I am? I asked who I was? Find me."_**

The fear invaded fully Apollo's body who decided to get out of that tiny space. But before he could even place a hand on the knob... another hand, that appeared of thin air and that was wearing a black glove grabbed his.

One glance behind him told Apollo exactly who it was and what it wanted.

And the struggle began.

* * *

"Didn't you hear anything from your father, about what happened?" Nico wondered to Will, having calmed him down a little.

"No." He admitted. "I can't talk to him. He's still on his flight." Nico sighed, upset they couldn't find an answer at the moment. "Where were you headed?" Seemed like Will suddenly realized Nico was heading somewhere.

Nico stared at him, unsure of who to explain it to him. He decided to show him instead.

He turned the car and kept on driving towards his destination, Will simply switching from watching the road to watch him. He knew he could feel his eyes on him. Once they arrived at the building, he began guiding him, almost silently.

"This way." Nico headed towards the right after getting out of the elevator. More precisely, on the seventh floor. He didn't waste time and rang the bell of one apartment. The 702.

"Isn't this Reyna Ramirez-Arellano's house? I saw it a lot in the book." Will recognized the place but Nico kept insisting on knocking the door.

"Reyna, it's me. Open the door." Nico ordered. "Reyna!" He insisted, knocking again.

"What happened?" Will's curiosity came out and Nico took advantage of that.

"Do you perhaps know the passcode?"

"What?"

"You didn't see anything or remember anything?" Will frowned his brows and Nico immediately realized that Will wasn't angry but trying to remember. He has never seen Will angry- fully angry, that's it -but he knew there was a small difference between both gestures.

"2405. The passcode is 2405." He said with confidence and Nico marked the code in the keypad of the door. The door easily opened and both men walked in, though not far in as Nico turned to Will, serious.

"Stay here and don't come in." _I don't want Reyna to have an attack... or attack Will._ Will looked at him but stood in the hallway while he walked further in. From both positions, the men could hear soft sobs coming from inside. Nico didn't have to struggle to find Reyna, she was curled up at the feet of the couch. The living room told another story, with a broken glass on the floor, shattered around and even some blood trailing around. And with her back facing him, the silhouette of his friend coming and going like if she was intermittent. Swallowing his fear, Nico knelt in front of her. "Reyna."

"Nico." Reyna finally reacted to something other than her fear and looked at him. "I must be dying..." She still sounded slurry and sleepy. Nico glanced at the table and saw three opened bottles of wine. "Why am I like this? I don't have hands..." She started to show him but Nico kept staring at her. "Look. Don't have legs too... What's wrong with me?"

"It's because you're drunk. Nothing is happening." Nico lied, trying to reassure her.

"It's because I'm drunk?" She repeated, looking at him. Nico smiled softly at her.

"Yeah. You're drunk. Let's get up." He gently wrapped his hand around her arm to get her up but that only upset Reyna a bit more.

"It's a wedding ring." She pointed out, pulling her arm away. "You have it on. You _did_ get married."

"Reyna-"

"I thought I would get married to you someday." She ranted, sobbing again. "Then what am I? What am I? What am I? What am I, I said!" She demanded an answer from him and Nico was forced to lie to her again. Half of it.

"Reyna. It's a misunderstanding." He began, fully aware that Will was standing there with them and glad that Reyna hadn't noticed him yet. "It's a fabricated marriage. You know it too. It's all fake. We don't have any kind of relationship." He continued talking, trying to sound sure.

"Misunderstanding?" She checked, and he nodded.

"Right, a misunderstanding." He nodded, glad his efforts to calm her down were working. "What are you worried about? You are so precious to me. You are someone who is closest to me. I will need you for the rest of my life."

Those words seemed to make a switch on Reyna as her figure stopped flickering and fully emerged again.

"You _need_ me?" She sounded like a little insecure girl and that broke Nico's heart.

"Of course." He assured her, sighing in relief. "Where are you trying to go?" He wiped her tears gently, he sounding calmer.

"I'm not dying?" She wanted to be sure. Nico couldn't go into a full explanation so he decided to hug her gently.

"Why would you die? No such thing will happen. You are drunk right now, so you will be fine after you sleep." Lying to her was killing him but there was no other way at the moment.

"Really?"

"Yes." Nico shared a look with Will as if he was asking for forgiveness for his words but Will only showed worry for Reyna.

As soon as Reyna fell asleep in Nico's embrace, he moved her to her bed where Will started to take care of all the cuts and wounds Reyna had inflicted herself by accident. Will wasn't speaking, Nico standing behind him, thoughtful.

"I forgot." Will confessed after healing all the injuries, pulling Nico out of his muses. "Reyna Ramirez-Arellano may be the female lead, but she was also the romantic interest." He looked at Nico, guilt written over his face. "It became like this because of me, right?"

"It's damned destiny that your father created." Nico stated, looking back at him. He wasn't agreeing or disagreeing. "A character's predetermined configuration. The reason for his or her existence. It's cruel, right? How could the reason for a person's existence be just only one? We _are_ humans too."

Will kept silent while checking that Reyna was asleep and that the glass scattered around the house was gone. He was starting to worry Nico when they both got back in the car and headed to the penthouse, looking out the window. He was mumbling to himself and Nico was sure he wasn't meant to but heard his words.

"This is such a mess." He mumbled, his face still facing the window. "This wasn't the sequel I intended."

That's why, when reaching a light stop, he pulled out his phone and took a drastic decision.

_'To Writer Apollo Solace...'_

* * *

The rest of the drive, both Will and Nico were silent.

They were even silent when they rode the elevator to the penthouse. Will was so upset and guilty over what was happening to Reyna that was paying Nico enough attention to know he was beside him. Luckily, he did notice when he knelt to the floor and began tying his shoelace.

"What are you doing?" He asked, rather stupidly.

"I'm tying your shoelace. I got the opportunity." Nico explained, smirking softly at him. Will stared at his shoe, smiling softly before looking at him. "Then, did I do four of those sweet things?"

"Is now the time to be doing homework?" He tried to tease him but didn't have the strength. As a reply, Nico simply grabbed his hand and stood next to him. When the elevator's door opened and Will intended to get out, Nico stopped him. "We'll go out to get some air." He told him. Will stared at him, not knowing what was happening but let him.

They kept in silent and holding hands while heading to the roof. More precisely, to the heliport where they first met.

"This place..." Will recognized the place, looking around. _It looks different in the morning..._

"Do you remember?" Nico sounded impressed and Will impressed him more.

"That's right. You were lying here, right?" He pointed at one spot. There were no marks left from that night but Will couldn't forget it. "I was so startled thinking you could die immediately." He confessed, sounding more relaxed. Nico noticed that and smiled at him. "CEO di Angelo, you are lucky you meet me in that situation." He flaunted himself, laughing, even with a small hair wave that made Nico chuckle.

"I was lucky." Nico repeated before turning serious. He placed himself in front of Will and let go of his hand. "Please promise me one thing." Will looked at him, confused. "If you leave this place again, draw me something."

"What drawing?" _What would he need...?_

"A dream."

"Dream?" Will repeated, unsure he heard right.

"A scene of me waking from a dream." Nico nodded at him before elaborating further. "Starting from two months ago when we met here until this moment, make it into a dream. As if I had a long dream." Will's face showed his fear and sadness. "It's not hard, right?" He teased him a little. "You even saved someone from dying so this is nothing." Will kept staring at him, not fully understanding. "No matter how I think about it, that is only the way. Going back to the time before I though Will Solace was my life's key."

Will couldn't make his mind or mouth to work, he just stood there, silently and listening. Though one thought seemed to be fixed.

_You want to forget me...?_

"I met you for the first time here, and as I became curious about you and searched for you, you kept being dragged in here, inside a manhwa." Nico gestured around. "Through you, I found out the truth, which was better left unrevealed. I met your father. And I did something I shouldn't have done. The killer followed me out then and is creating chaos in your world. My friend was close to dying. And the most important thing. You can die. I can't see that with my own eyes again." Will noticed Nico choking a little while saying the last part.

_At least, he's not doing it without reason..._

That didn't make it less painful.

"If we go back to the time when we didn't meet, everything will be resolved." He sounded hopeful of his plan. "If I don't know you, I won't look for you and I won't think of you. Then you won't be dragged in here. Through you, I won't find out the truth either. I won't shoot your father, and the real culprit won't have left this world. People will not be in danger." The more Nico explained himself, the more Will could understand why he decided so. "I'm grateful for you saving me, I didn't know how I'm going to live, but I get it now. I just have to live according to my destiny. If the reason for my existence is to chase the uncatchable culprit eternally, I must do so." He finally realized Will had turned very silent and slightly pale. "What do you think? My intention... do you understand it?"

"I do." He nodded, a bit hoarse, a lone tear rolling down his cheek.

"Then you can draw that, right? This is all a dream. While I was lying down after getting hurt, I had a dream that I cannot remember." Nico finished, still looking at him, before pulling out a flash drive from his pocket and handing it to Will. "Promise me. When you go back, you have to draw right away. Don't hesitate. He doesn't need any logical connection, so he can appear at any time." Nico warned him. "Answer me. We don't have time. We don't know what he might be doing at this time. He doesn't have any character."

"I promise you." Will promised him.

"Then that's good." Nico smiled sadly at him before taking steps away from him. "I'm sad that I could only do four sweet, romantic gestures. I had over _a hundred_ things I wanted to do for you." He admitted to Will while getting further away from him, closer to the edge. "I want to hug you, but I can't do that. I might have lingering feelings for you."

"Are you going somewhere?" Will finally was brave enough to ask. As a reply, Nico began climbing what was left of the edge before looking at him again.

"We don't have time, and this is the only certain method." He didn't sound scared about what he was planning to do. "Will Solace, forget me now. I am just a character in a manhwa. If you want to see me from now on, just see me through a book in a bookstore. Do you understand? Be well."

With one final smirk to him, Will watched helplessly how Nico fell backward to his demise from the edge.

Knowing what would happen then only made it worse for Will.

* * *

_"CEO Nico di Angelo, who went through a surgery, is currently recovering in a stable condition. The front of the hospital is crowded with people who are worried about him. The police stated that they continue to look for the culprit who stabbed him, but no direct evidence has come out yet."_

Nico di Angelo opened his eyes at the sound of the news in the background. Where was he? He saw his cousin Percy watching the news from a couch in what seemed to be a private hospital room. Just at that moment, Nico's secretary and long-time friend, Reyna, walked through the room and saw him awake.

"You are awake?" She saw him looking at her while Percy turned off the TV. "How are you feeling?"

"Did you find anything?" Nico smiled softly at him before turning business-like.

"Not yet." She admitted, crossing her arms. "We are evaluating the CCTV, but it would take a while. You know that they are very slow." Nico turned his head slightly to think but Reyna noticed something that left everyone surprised. "Did you cry?"

The '_plop_' of Percy's teabag falling in his cup was all they could hear.

"What?" Nico asked, surprised.

"That seems like tears." Reyna insisted and Nico reached up to wipe his eyes where, as she had pointed out, were tears.

"I don't know. It seems like I had a dream." Nico confessed, unsure.

"What kind of sad dream did you have to even cry?" Reyna pushed into the topic, the worry written on her face.

"I don't remember. Can you give me water?" Nico moved away from the topic while Reyna began ranting about something a little more important.

"Anyway, the problem with you is that you are fearless. Why did you go up there by yourself? You are so determined to get attacked. You were fortunate that a waiter went up there at that moment. Why did you meet that person by yourself, when you don't know who he is?"

Nico's mind was not following Reyna. He was trying to remember the dream he had.

Part of him felt he was missing something important...


	25. Episode 9, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 9: Part 1**

* * *

_Previously..._

**_"Who am I...?"_** Apollo looked around the tiny airplane bathroom and saw no one, except more floating words. _**"Where's Nico di Angelo?"**_ The words kept on appearing and Apollo was sensing fear in himself. _**"Who am I? Why won't you tell me who I am? I asked who I was? Find me."**_

The fear invaded fully Apollo's body who decided to get out of that tiny space. But before he could even place a hand on the knob... another hand, that appeared of thin air and that was wearing a black glove grabbed his.

One glance behind him told Apollo exactly who it was and what it wanted.

The other gloved hand covered Apollo's mouth to avoid any kind of noise and scream, leaving him at the mercy of his threatener.

_**"You betrayed me."**_ More words appeared in front of him. He could feel the anger in those words. Apollo had nothing else to do but to struggle against him, which only generated more noise.

_"Sir? Sir? Are you alright?"_ A stewardess knocked on the door, probably attracted by the amount of noise.

Suddenly, the threatener had gotten the upper hand and, ironically, had placed his hand on Apollo's throat while keeping him straight against the wall.

_**"Why are you not keeping your promise?"**_ The hooded man told him. His hand kept holding tight while lifting him from the floor. _**"You said you would find me."**_ Apollo was struggling for air and not even the knocking on the door by the now worried stewardess could stop the threatener.

_"Sir, are you alright?"_ She repeated upon getting no answer.

_**"Who am I?"**_ The man insisted on Apollo. _**"I asked who am I. Give me my face!"**_ He demanded him.

Just when the stewardess became insisting, the man disappeared from thin air, leaving Apollo wondering about his second close-to-death experience. Ignoring the worried stewardess, Apollo returned to his seat in an almost catatonic state.

This time, he knew he had to do something about it.

* * *

Two nights later, Apollo was setting foot again in New York.

His decision to return was a combination of his experience in the plane and a call he got from Kayla the previous night.

_"Last night, four chapters were uploaded. Big Bro almost died from getting shot by a gun. He appeared in an instant and fired a gun."_

He boarded a plane back and now, he was on a taxi to his new destination. Inside the taxi, he could see what Kayla was talking about the manhwa, he finally was able to see it with his eyes.

He finally understood what he had done.

_"Who is it?"_ A voice he knew very well answered on the other side of the door once he arrived at his destination.

"It's me." Apollo admitted, tiredly.

_"Me who?"_ The voice questioned before the door opened revealing a tired Naomi. "How did you come here?" Her voice was full of surprise and stress. She didn't want to see her ex-husband at this time. "I heard you went to New Zealand yesterday."

"I came back right away." He explained, kind of harsh. "Can I come in?"

"You can... come in." Naomi hesitated a bit but let him, her curiosity not satisfied. "But what happened?"

"Where is Will?" Apollo asked, changing the topic.

"At his room." Naomi pointed out. "He's sick so he's lying down. Did you hear it from Kayla?" Apollo ignored Naomi and barged into Will's room, only to find him asleep and with a saline solution hanging from one side of the bed frame. Apollo dropped his bag and sat on the edge of his bed. "He fainted in the car drawing pictures, in this hot weather." Naomi, who was standing by the door, told him seriously. "This is outrageous. He was in the emergency room, I just brought him back a while ago. Don't know what's what these days!" She ranted a bit loud though Will didn't even move from the sound. "He won't even tell me what he was drawing in the car to get to this point! And Kayla just keeps spewing senseless things! What exactly is he so afraid of?! What-" She stopped talking when she realized that Apollo was quiet. "But... Why did you come? You said you'd be there for at least a month."

The ring of the phone saved Apollo from answering but left him alone with Will in the room. Worried about the state of his son, Apollo brushed gently some hair out of his forehead before grabbing his hand. It was only then that he noticed something important.

Will hadn't taken off his wedding ring.

"You're acting like a fool..." Apollo mumbled to himself. It was then that he remembered something weird from the manhwa: Nico had given Will a flash drive for him. He looked around the room, thinking where Will could have placed the drive when he noticed the jeans he had been wearing before. Searching in them was successful as the flash drive was there. He immediately connected the drive with his phone and found three things inside.

Two folders and a letter to him.

He began reading the letter, knowing that it held some answers.

_To Writer Apollo Solace,_

_I heard that you were alive. I'm alive as well._

_Though it's a relief that you are alive, I don't intend to apologize._

_I don't have the right to be forgiven, but you don't have the right to forgive me._

"Pretentious bastard..." Apollo muttered to himself before keep reading.

_I'm writing this to ask not for forgiveness, but to offer a proposition._

_Because there's something that we have to see an end to, together._

_I will accept the damned fate you've given me._

_So you, do what you're supposed to do._

_Don't run away anymore._

_Not for my sake but if it is for your son's sake, you'll be able to do it this time._

_The happy ending for '**W**'._

After reading, Apollo glanced at Will, asking himself the most important question of all.

Did he dare to...?

* * *

Will woke up later, slightly confused as to where he was.

He recognized his room, he had no doubts about that, so that meant he was in his world. _Shame..._ While looking around, he noticed that his arm was connected to a saline solution. _Must have been when I passed out..._ He immediately detached the tube of his arm and was about to get up when he noticed his mother sleeping on the floor. _Mom..._

"Mom, sleep in your room..." He told her, making a weak attempt to get her up, his eyes slightly closed still.

"You're awake? Are you okay?" Will would have rolled his eyes at her still eyes-closed reply if he wasn't weak.

"Why're you sleeping there? It's uncomfortable." He recognized, not voicing out loud that he had slept on the floor when he was in prison.

"It's fine, I'm lazy." She wasn't moving- she even made herself more comfortable -so Will let her be. "Your father dropped by." _Dad...?_

"When?"

"Around 11..." _That late... Wait, isn't he supposed to be in another country...?_ "He said he'd be in New Zealand for at least a month." She continued. "But he came back."

Thinking he knew the reason why he returned, Will got up from bed intending to call his father, to ask him what prompted him to return until he realized that it was five in the morning and his father was probably asleep. Suddenly, he noticed that light was coming from the window and when he turned around, he was left speechless.

He was in Nico's hospital room.

Nico was asleep in his bed and luckily, he was alone in the room. Will cared very little of how that had happened- him returning to the manhwa -, his feet walk on their own, getting him closer to the bed. _Could it be that the dream was in his subconscious...? How... cruel of him..._ Will reached out his hand to touch his face, to see if it was real when he heard a loud knock.

When he turned around, he was back in his mother's house.

That was the first time Will saw Nico after the '_dream_'.

* * *

The second time Will saw Nico was one day he was arriving at the hospital.

He was just getting out of his car when, one second later, he was standing on the VIP patient wing of the hospital. He didn't dare to move from the hallway while a nurse did walk into the room. He managed to glance at him when the door opened and he could have sworn Nico caught a glance of him...

...before he was back in the hospital's parking lot.

* * *

The third time was a week later before he was getting ready for surgery.

"Aren't you wearing your cap?" Alscepius wondered to Will, who hadn't noticed that was missing.

"Oh, my cap." He recognized when he touched his hair. He made a gesture to go get it when the Professor stopped him.

"Hey. What is that... are you wearing a ring right now?" _Damn, I forgot about his annoyance with jewelry..._ That complain got the attention of Lee that was also there getting ready for the surgery. "You little! You're supposed to do surgery every day. You want to die?" Will didn't have the strength or the will to stop him at the moment.

"Dude, that ring... looks nice. Did you steal this from somewhere?" Lee accused him, earning an incredulous look from Will. _Steal? Me?_ "Did you get married somewhere without the professor knowing?!" _That's what you're worried about?_

"Hey. He doesn't even have a lover, how would he get married?" _Ouch, that hurt, Professor..._ "I knew it from the moment I saw the way he was acting on the blind date. This kid, _no matter what_, will be an oldie living alone." _That did hurt..._

"I strangely agree that that's just _right_, Professor." _Thanks a lot, Lee..._

"Right?" Alscepius seemed happy someone agreed with him before giving an ultimatum to Will. "Get your head screwed on the right or I'll kill you."

"Sorry..." He apologized before glaring at Lee for not helping him. To avoid the anger of his professor again, Will decided to pull the ring out. The ring got stuck in his knuckle as if saying he didn't want to leave but Will was having none of that. He pulled harder and the strength made the ring come out and fell to the floor. Will began chasing the ring without noticing his surroundings changed. He finally saw the ring being stopped by a pair of feet but he didn't calculate properly and hit the owner of the feet.

The second he lifted his eyes, he gasped silently as he was seeing Nico di Angelo standing there.

Two months had passed in that single week.

"I'm sorry." Nico offered apologies as if it had been his fault. Will stared at him, not believing his eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked with that smirk of his. Will tried to hold it together and almost lost it when Nico knelt and picked his ring and gave it to him. "I apologize, I wasn't looking. Your ring is pretty." _You gave it to me..._ A phone call interrupted the moment with Nico silently apologizing before answering and walking away.

Will watched as Nico greeted Percy at the door of the hospital. His stare was slightly intense and unwavering that Percy noticed and pointed it out to Nico, who nodded his head back at him before teasing and leaving with his cousin.

With one glance to the ring in his hand, Will was transported back to his world where he realized the terrible truth.

He went back to the Nico di Angelo that the readers are very familiar with. The one who is always strong, and without a setback.

Nico di Angelo, just like he had asked, had truly forgotten everything that had happened between themselves.


	26. Episode 9, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 9: Part 2**

* * *

While Will was suffering his new reality in the hospital, Apollo was watching as Kayla explained why there were only the two of them in the room after he called all of his apprentices.

"Well... you contacted us so suddenly... Travis and Connor will come on Wednesday." Kayla apologized to him.

"Just the two of us can do it." Apollo spoke with calm, his emotions not betraying his poker face, a glass of whiskey on his hand.

"That... Master..." Kayla began again, somehow fearful. "Honestly, I was on my way to go to my hometown." She explained to him before going full rant. "Now, I plan to give up on the manhwa. I am really scared. After you got shot that night, I have not been able to sleep once comfortably. No, why does drawing a manhwa put our lives in danger? I really don't understand. I tried going to a church and a Buddhist temple, and even stuck some talismans like this." She pulled out her tablet, covered in talisman's stickers, her hand shaking a bit. "But this heart of mine is not at ease. I... even coming here is very- very-"

"I called you in so we could finish up the ending properly." Apollo interrupted her, still serious. "I want to wrap '**W**' up with a happy ending." Kayla frowned, not understanding fully.

"If it's a happy ending, then..."

"Nico di Angelo finds the real culprit and punishes him." He announced, surprising his apprentice. "The culprit will be gone in the manhwa forever. If not, then I don't know what else would happen."

"Are you going to kill the true culprit?" Kayla wondered before receiving a stern face from him.

"He killed three real persons and even tried to kill my son. Will it do if I just let him be?" He reasoned, angry, before calming down. "It's a murderer that came out of my hands so my hands should resolve it." After saying those words, Apollo's mind wondered back to Nico's final letter.

_If you want to get rid of the real culprit you must first create the identity._

_Not some ghost-like being but into a human that I can catch._

_I am sending you all the W project reports as attachments._

_In here, there are about 353 possible suspects' investigation records._

_You need to make a new character, aside from these._

_That way I can understand it, and in that way, this manhwa can come to an end._

Shaking his head, Apollo handed to Kayla a pile of papers.

"You need to read everything without leaving anything out." He told her, leaving the poor girl gaping at the number of papers she had to read now. "And you have to take out everything that overlaps. Otherwise, Nico di Angelo might get suspicious. If he suspects, it will start again—that damned curse!"

"Master, we made it into a perfect crime, so how do we make a culprit?" Kayla was definitely curious about it. "I think there would be a hole no matter what clue we throw-in."

"There will be a hole, and we can't do anything about that." Apollo agreed with her. "That's why, despite that, we need to make a face that Nico di Angelo would believe to be the true culprit."

"A face that he would be able to believe?" She repeated, unsure.

"I have decided on the face. A true culprit that Nico di Angelo would accept is only that person." Apollo grabbed a sketched pad that was on the table next to him and gave it to Kayla who gasped upon seeing it for the first time.

"This- This person- He looks... a bit like you, Master..." Kayla pointed out and Apollo didn't disappoint in explaining.

"You're right. It's me."

"T-Then... You're going to write _yourself_ as the real culprit?" Kayla wanted to understand everything.

"Do you think he'd believe it if it wasn't me?" Apollo questioned her and Kayla stared at him. "The only suspect Nico di Angelo has ever seen is me. If it's my face, he'll believe it."

* * *

Meanwhile, ignoring all the plots that were happening outside his world, Nico di Angelo was coming home from a run to get ready for another day.

"CEO, should I set your breakfast?" The housekeeper wondered to him as soon as he crossed the door.

"Ten minutes later, I will wash up first." Nico agreed with her, earning a nod before being on her way. However, breakfast will have to wait, as his phone rang a few minutes after his shower, ready to shock him to the core.

"Yes." He answered, absent-minded.

_"Where are you?"_ Nico's Uncle Poseidon's voice didn't need any more introductions.

"I'm still at the hotel." Nico confessed.

_"We finally got one."_ Nico's entire posture switched to stiff and asked for verification.

"What?"

_"That night, there was someone who came out of the rooftop."_ Poseidon told him. _"It was caught on the black box of a delivery truck."_

Nico didn't waste time. He immediately got changed and drove to the broadcasting station to greet his cousin Percy, who greeted him with a tight smile.

"CEO di Angelo."

"You said you couldn't find anything no matter how much you searched. Nothing came up for two months." Nico recognized to his cousin, trying not to get his hopes up. He was a little suspicious about the thing- not that he didn't believe his relatives but it sounded too... lucky.

"I know. But somehow there was one we missed." Percy admitted to his cousin. "The bakery truck that came to deliver to the hotel restaurant at that time."

Both cousins walked to the production area of the station where only Poseidon and a couple of technicians were around. After greetings, they started to work.

"I called you so that if this looks like it might be a clue, we can send it out right away today during the recording." Poseidon told his nephew, serious. "But this has to be right. Look at the face." Nico stared at the screen which had his full concentration until his Uncle screamed. "That guy!" The recording of the security tape stopped and the blurred image of a man walking by stood out.

"Zoom in on him a little more." Nico asked, crossing his arms. The technician did that. "More, a little more..." The more the technician zoomed the picture, the more Nico remembered that night on the rooftop. He began remembering the man that grabbed a knife and began stabbing him repeatedly on his torso with such anger that Nico wondered what he did to him. Once his face was in full display, Nico tensed up. "Yes. I do know him." He told everyone in the room. "He's the guy who stabbed me on the rooftop." Nico identified him, serious, before adding. "But everyone said nothing came out so I thought I was hallucinating. How was he caught on here?" Nico wanted to know. "You said there wasn't anything on the other security cameras."

"Is that important?" Percy argued, not hiding his happiness. "We should be relieved that he was caught on at least one of them. We've hit the jackpot with this one." Both Uncle and nephew were extremely happy.

"Let's send it out on today's recording." Poseidon was back in the game. "It'll be faster to get tipped off with information." He proposed to Nico who kept staring at the screen.

Things were finally looking good...

* * *

"Hey! Will Solace! Did you see it?! Huh?! Did you?!"

Will looked on the direction Professor Alscepius was coming in, making a lot of noise, while trying not to drop his freshly served coffee.

"What?"

"I'm asking if you saw '**W**'!" A small dark shadow covered Will's eyes but Alscepius didn't notice.

"No, not yet." He admitted. _What was he talking about...?_

"It's the return of the king! Apollo Solace, The Great, is finally back!" He praised his father, pulling out a forced smile out of Will. "Ever since that Will Solace, the sewage puddle guy, got pushed out, the story's just falling in place!" _Why does he hate me so much...?_ "Did you see 'W'?!" Will shook his head. "I... I really... After seeing how my '**W**' was being ruined the past few months, my heart-" He insisted, sounding like if he had been wronged. "I can't even say anything because the cartoonist is not well right now either!"

_How considerate of you..._

"But honestly, the recent story was complete garbage! A third-rate, corny ass, dog poop romance?! Does that make sense?!" Will kept quiet and let him rant while drinking his coffee, trying not to take it personally but he was making it hard. "But! Even the cartoonist has realized it now!" He went back to sing praises to his father. "'_All of it was a dream'_..."

_That was _**_not_**_ Dad's idea..._

"It's starting again now! Nico di Angelo's going to catch the culprit! Tie the knot with Reyna! He'll be walking the right path!" _Wait, what?!_ "The right path... Doesn't matter when I hear it, it always makes me feel good! Oh right! How's your father's condition these days? He's alright, right?" _Again, how considerate of you..._ "Tell him to not push himself, _no matter what._ And tell him that I'm _extremely_ looking forward to things! Okay!?"

"Yes." _Finally, you stopped talking...?_

"Okay!" Happy, Alscepius was leaving almost skipping on his feet. _I guess not..._ "Nico di Angelo action! Nico di Angelo likes Reyna! Out with Will Solace!" He was almost out the door when he took a step back. "Wait a minute... But why does the culprit look exactly like the cartoonist?"

"What?"

"It was the cartoonist's face. Wait, could it be...?" Alscepius kept talking without waiting for a reply. "Oh my God, oh my God... I-It's that, isn't it?! Like that Hitchcock movie! Putting his face in his work! Wow. '**W**', I'm going crazy! Using the cartoonist's face as the culprit!? Oh, '**W**'. '**W**'! '**W**'! Yahoo!" Alscepius left the room, exhilarated, leaving Will with more questions than answers.

Answers he could only get from watching the manhwa online.

* * *

"He's ending it with a happy ending?" Will asked Kayla once he was alone and could call her to ask about what he had seen.

_"No no, it's not that."_ Kayla rushed to reply. _"He said he'll end it with four chapters and the one you saw is the first one."_

"How's he going to make it a happy ending?" Will wondered, knowing his father wasn't a fan of 'romance'.

_"Well, first off, he spread out the clues." _Kayla began her explanation._ "He'll use the show, '_**_W_**_', to spread the information he has about the killer. To inform the people about his physical description and stuff... only mentioning he attacked Nico on the rooftop that night..." _While Kayla explained, Will was instantly brought back at the time Nico and his father met face to face, when Apollo had confessed that crime to him._ "Finally, a neighbor would have spotted him and would tip the authorities, who would take him to the police station..."_

"What would be his name? His story...?" Will said. _I'm not coming back there but they can't make him Apollo Solace..._

_"His name is Orcus, age 61. He was a teammate of Nico di Angelo's father when they were shooters back then."_ Kayla told the story they had come up with. _"He had a victim complex towards Hades di Angelo. He has a long history of psychiatric therapy, in other words, he's paranoid. A crazy bastard."_ She summarized up. _"And, when the police investigate his home, they find all sorts of evidence. Like Nico di Angelo's blood, a knife with his fingerprints, pictures of the di Angelo's family, a crime diary, everything."_

_That sounds more like Dad's style..._

_"He confesses his crimes to Nico, who will visit him when in custody."_ Kayla continued, unaware of Will's muses. _"He would confess when and why he murdered them, claiming that of Nico had been in the room, he would have been dead too... All while claiming Hades di Angelo was arrogant. Anyway, he admitted he thought he'd get caught fast until Zeus Olympia focused on Nico. He had heard of Nico's restless chase against him and decided to finish it by calling him to the roof..."_

"That's the end...?"

_"Not even close, Big Bro..."_ Kayla confessed, lowering her voice. _"Master says we need to kill the killer so he won't cause troubles in the future..."_

"How are you planning on doing that...?" Now, Will was curious as to how would they pull that off. "You're not-" He gulped hard before asking. "You're not making Nico kill him, aren't you...?

_"No!"_ Kayla shouted before lowering her voice. _"That would not be a happy ending. A villain kills a villain."_

"Who...?"

_"Zeus Olympia."_


	27. Episode 9, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 9: Part 3**

* * *

_Previously..._

_"No!"_ Kayla shouted at Will through the phone before lowering her voice. _"That would not be a happy ending. A villain kills a villain."_

"Who...?"

_"Zeus Olympia." _Will stayed quiet while Kayla explained. _"He'll be in denial that someone else rather than Nico di Angelo had committed the crimes. Especially since he would be 'running' for president the upcoming year. Nico's trial and sentence were what gave him support and presence in politics and he wouldn't want to lose that. Since Orcus' appearance will make all the case crumble, he will lose his supporters and go on the destructive route."_

"Destructive route? What do you mean by that?"

_"He will send people to kill Orcus, disguising it as suicide. Going as far as to make a fake suicide note, stating that he gave a false confession after receiving money from Nico di Angelo."_ Kayla continued her explanation. _"However, the thugs that helped him stage the suicide will give an interview and point straight to him, tearing apart the bribe theory. The real culprit dies, Zeus Olympia goes to jail. Goodwill is rewarded and evil will be punished. What do you think? What do you think? Do you think people will like it? Huh?"_ Kayla finished telling Will about what will happen in the manhwa.

"They will like it." Will admitted with sadness.

_"Right?"_ Kayla's voice was slightly euphoric about it. _"I'll finally sleep well if things become like this. Things should have been like this since the beginning. Then nothing would've happened."_

"Then, that's the end?" Will wanted to know, even if his heart was shattering slowly. "What is the last scene?"

_"Love line... I should finish the love line somehow."_ Kayla mumbled and Will began listening.

"How? Is he going to marry Reyna?" He asked, worried, though part of him wanted him to be happy and if that was the way, then who was he to stop it?

_"No, no, not to that extent."_ Kayla stopped whichever thought he was having. _"Just... you know, like in the movies... The best friend writes a letter about what happened with feelings, Main Character feels grateful and that 'can't like without you' sensation comes, they greet and we leave a cliffhanger."_ Kayla explained though that wasn't better for Will. _"I'm going to finish with lingering images that they'll end up well. Hello? Big Bro, are you listening?"_

"I see." Will whispered, not totally happy.

_"Answer quickly. You scared the life out of me."_ Kayla scolded him.

"But it feels so empty, Kayla." Will told her, sighing. "Nobody remembers me there, and nobody knows what I've gone through here. There's not even a single picture. I didn't take a single picture, like a fool." He blamed himself before confessing something to her. "So... Do you know what I did yesterday? I bought some manhwas and cut the scenes out... I made a collage of him in my room, sticking it on the window... Mom didn't like it when she saw it..."

_"You should act your age. Take them all down. It doesn't look good."_ Kayla insisted, echoing Naomi's words without knowing. It was clear to Will both women were worried about him. _"Put up pictures of your real boyfriend. Real boyfriend."_ She emphasized to him. Will simply smiled at his friend's concern.

"I'll talk to you later, Kayla." With that, Will hung the phone and laid down in one of the beds in the room before grabbing out the latest printed edition of the manhwa that was in a desk. The one that had all his meddlings. "CEO di Angelo." He sighed, looking at the cover. "Are you doing well? Are you happy these days?" He wondered, sadly. _I'm not..._

"Hey, Will." Lee's voice was heard as soon as he opened the door and Will covered his face with the manhwa. "Are you going to sleep?"

"Yeah, for ten minutes." He agreed, not seeing his colleague.

"What about food?" Lee countered but Will wasn't on the mood.

"I'm sleepy."

"Okay. Bye." Lee stopped insisting and left and Will hoped he could take a ten-minute nap like he said when...

The alarm of the hospital was soon ringing loud.

_Goodbye to my nap..._

_"Code Black. Code Black. Emergency Room. Patients from a shooting incident will soon arrive."_ A nurse's voice was heard through the speakers, making every single person with a white lab coat be ready for incoming. _"Since there are many injured patients, we are shorthanded. Except for the minimum number of people, all medical staff should please come to the emergency room. Repeat! Code Black! ER."_

"What is this? What's going on?" Will wondered to himself, getting out of the restroom and rushing to lend a hand in the emergency.

He should have paid attention to the hospital name's signs that read _Highland General Hospital_

"There is a shooting incident?" He wondered to a fellow resident/doctor, who replied hurriedly.

"You didn't see the news? It's been crazy since there was a mass shooting at a broadcasting company."

"A broadcasting company?" He checked and the resident simply nodded. Will wondered what could have happened but, in reality, he didn't give too much thought to it. He was ready to help in everything he could when a group of nurses and doctors rushed into with a stretcher.

He was paralyzed in his place when he saw Reyna Ramirez-Arellano calling someone on the phone while running next to the stretcher.

With Percy Jackson running after them.

"Reyna!" Percy shouted at her, catching up with the stretcher. Will followed them until stopping and wondering something.

"What is this? Why am I here again?" Will questioned himself. He had no more reason to come back, Nico had stopped thinking about him. _Why...?_

The answers to what had happened were on the nearby TV.

_"Although the total number hasn't been totaled accurately yet, currently there are eight dead, and more than fifteen injured. As a reminder, today around 6 pm, inside Channel W's broadcasting station studio, an indiscriminate shooting case has occurred. The culprit's identity has not been revealed yet. Even though they have blocked the surroundings, the culprit has escaped from the crime scene. The shooter's victims have been found to be all from Channel W's production crew. At the scene, there were about 23 people present, and in a matter of fewer than five minutes, the culprit shot everyone at the studio. The currently confirmed eight dead, and fifteen injured have been transferred to Highland General Hospital and are receiving treatment. Out of them, 7 of them are in critical condition. They are expecting more casualties. Next is the list of names of people who are confirmed to have been killed..."_

"Why is it like this? The story isn't like this..." Will wondered again before rushing towards the entrance of the hospital. He had to figure out why he was back and why that had happened- especially after what Kayla had told him.

But right now, he had lives to save.

He had to make his way through the wave of journalist and photographers that wanted to know what had happened. When he identified himself as a doctor to be let through the police barrier, all the questions were directed at him.

But he had none.

Once he arrived at the Emergency Area of the hospital, Will was shocked by the amount of movement and the number of victims that were being either taken care of or rolled in through the doors. He didn't know how to help and was about to find out when the most normal happened.

Someone grabbed his arm.

Anything that Will was about to reply or even say jumped out of his brain when he saw the face of Nico di Angelo.

All hopes of being recognized were ignited in Will. Anything would have made him happy, after all, he grabbed his hand on will. Nico's serious face matched the situation but Will was past caring. He allowed himself to be dragged by him and his hopes deflated a little when he pointed at a woman that was laying on the waiting room area couches.

"Treat this patient first." Nico told him, pointing at the woman. "She is in a lot of pain. Please do something. Her leg got shot." Will's eyes were examining Nico's body for injuries but that only gave him a distracted look. "Will Solace? Excuse me, Doctor Will Solace?" Nico repeated but Will was not paying attention. "Aren't you listening? Please do something. Are you deaf?" Nico tried, raising his voice and frowning. Will finally came out of his muses and looked down at the woman's bleeding leg.

"Just a minute." Will said before heading to grab gloves and other instruments that he might need. _Wake up, Will! Whether he remembers you or not is not important now... You have to do what you were trained to do!_ While Will was focusing on the task- saving the woman, or at least bandage her leg and stop the bleeding -, Nico had left her side. Will couldn't focus on that now.

"How is she?" He returned while he was de-sterilizing the wound.

"She has to have surgery. Her life isn't in danger because there isn't a lot of bleeding." Will replied, monotonously, before focusing back on the leg.

"I'm sorry for yelling earlier." Nico apologized to him. _Surprises never end today..._

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked him, not looking at him.

"No." Nico confirmed to him and Will did look at him this time.

"Earlier, on the news..." He began but Nico completed the sentence for him.

"Oh, it was an incorrect report." He acknowledged to him. Will nodded and went back to work.

"Oh, I remember you now." _What?_ "You dropped that ring, right?" _He... he remembers that...?_ Will stared at Nico, who seemed a little uncomfortable about it. "Why do you keep looking at me that way?"

"Because I don't know why I am here." He confessed before getting back to work.

"CEO." Reyna's voice broke what Will considered their 'moment'.

"How is the station director?" Nico wanted to know.

"He went into surgery. Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked him before both of them walking away from the spot.

Will couldn't understand why he was back again. It didn't make sense to him. Nico didn't remember him and he had no real reason to be back in the manhwa. It was only great torture to him.

But, no matter what he thought, there had to be a reason why he was back. Why the storyline that Kayla had told him was not the one he was seeing now. Why had the manhwa changed again?

And he had to discover that soon.

* * *

_~FLASHBACK~_

**_1 hour before..._**

"Please look carefully at this photo."_ Nico was watching the transmission of the '_**_W_**_' program from the production room, along with Percy. _"This is the prime suspect of Nico di Angelo's assault case that occurred on May 22nd at New York Promenade Hotel."_ The host pointed at a picture of a man that may have around sixty years, with badly-looked-after beard and glasses, his eyes a bit haunted. He was obviously looking if someone was following him. _"On the day of the incident, he wore a grey sweater with a khaki-colored shirt and indigo blue shorts. He wore glasses, has grown a bit of a grey-haired beard, and his height is estimated to be 175cm."_ The host described, like everyone else, based on the picture. _"If you have seen this person or know his whereabouts-"

_The host was interrupted when a red dot appeared on his forehead, making him collapse on the floor, lifeless._

_He was dead._

_Nico was as shocked as everyone was, both in the production room and on the floor. One of the assistants decided to go investigate and ran towards him..._

_Only to be shot on his back, falling lifeless next to the host._

_Two police officers that were always on the floor decided to check too but were immediately put down by two bullets, prompting a massive panic reaction from everyone on the site. Everyone started to run stray while a hooded man walked calmly and pointed his gun at random people- people who were running for their lives._

_Nico and Percy watched helplessly from the production as Poseidon tried to confront the shooter, only to be shot in the abdomen. Without waiting a minute more, Nico gave the order everyone was waiting to hear._

_"Call for help."_

_Percy left the production room, ready to do something. Nico knew very well that his cousin would rather run in there without protection, which is why he gave the order: he needed something to do. He watched in morbid fascination as the hooded man walked slowly to the center of the studio, stole the microphone of one of the first dead assistants, pulling down his hood and stood in front of the camera._

"Nico di Angelo."_ He called him, almost gleefully. Nico simply watched the man. "_Are you there? Can you hear me well?" _His face was closer and closer to the camera. "_You were looking for me so much that I came to show you my face. You must have been miserable since I didn't appear for ten years. I was miserable too. I wanted to appear but there was no way." _He was very happy as if everything was going according to plan. _"This is me. How is my face? I really like it. Let's see each other more often." _Nico stood there watching as the man that killed his family and tried to kill him on the rooftop shot one by one the cameras in the studio._

_To disappear without a trace._


	28. Episode 10, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 10: Part 1**

* * *

_Previously..._

_Knock, knock!_

"Master, I'm going to buy some late-night snacks." Kayla informed Apollo after walking into his studio/bedroom. "Should I buy fried chicken for you?" She offered to him. "I know you like fried chicken." Apollo didn't even acknowledge Kayla, he just kept drawing. "I'll be back." She added before walking out of the room.

Not even five seconds had passed when Apollo began calling her.

"Kayla? Kayla!" As Kayla was not already in the house, it was up to Apollo who had to do... whatever he was thinking. He walked to the shelves he owned and pulled out a folder full of information. From there, a picture fell down.

It was the infamous picture of the painting of the monster eating the human, the one he had written on the back 'Rather than be consumed, I'll consume'. Realizing how wrong he was, he tore the picture in pieces when his tablet lighted up on its own.

And a voice came out of it.

_"Finally, you are keeping your promise."_ Apollo didn't need to walk to the tablet to know who was talking to him. In fact, he even backed up to the shelves even more. _"Was this my face? Fine. This was me."_ The killer answered himself after not getting a reply from Apollo. _"I was very much you. It's a face that suits me very well. You wanted to kill Nico di Angelo as well, just like me."_ The more the killer spoke, the scarier Apollo became. _"I knew it then, that you and I are the same soul."_ He mentioned the time they had met for the first time at the rooftop- coincidentally, both trying to kill Nico. _"Is that why? I think it is perfect."_

With that, the voice disappeared and the tablet lighted off.

Apollo thought that was it and, in his panic, headed closer to the tablet to not only turn it off but to disconnect it. It was then when a couple of hands came out of the tablet and grabbed the front of his shirt. Apollo struggled against the hands and, in a moment and trying to pull away from the screen, he pulled out half of the killer's body.

Apollo was facing himself. A much darker version of himself.

"Let go. I created a face for you." Apollo begged, screaming at the end. "I'm saying that I kept my promise!"

"That's right. You kept your promise." The killer- baptized Orcus -spoke to him, his intense glare not disappearing. "But are you going to kill me?" Apollo tried to keep his face straight but Orcus saw something in it that gave it away. "You and Nico di Angelo planned to kill me? That is a betrayal. All I did was to simply follow your orders, but now you'd-" Apollo kept struggling against him. "You are me, and I am you. From now on, you follow my orders!" Orcus announced before pulling back into the tablet, Apollo along.

Or part of him.

When Kayla returned from the store, calling his name, Apollo could do nothing. He was passed out on top of the tablet, his face hidden with it.

"Is he asleep? Master?" Kayla wondered, calling him one more time. It was then that Apollo reacted.

Just not in the way Kayla would have expected.

**"Is that you, Kayla?"** Bright and floating letters appeared in front of Kayla, who began rubbing her eyes, thinking she was dreaming awake. **"Kayla, it's me."** The letters appeared again and Apollo lifted his head...

Only to reveal no face.

His face was blurred as if someone had decided to grab a rubber and erase details like eyes, mouth, and nose.

Apollo kept calling Kayla's name but the poor girl reacted in the only possible and logical way: she began screaming her lungs away while falling on the floor and backing towards the wall. Apollo even got up from his seat and walked to her, trying to explain what had happened, cornering her until she screamed so much she passed away in shock and fear.

_"Won't you take a seat?" _Apollo heard Orcus' voice and, as much as he wanted to disobey, he couldn't. He gingerly sat back on the seat, listening. _"Won't you draw a pistol, a nice one. Bullets too. The more, the better."_ Apollo began to draw against his will, the replica of his drawing appearing right next to Orcus who was waiting with patience. _"More, more, more. Draw even more! Because I'm going to kill a lot."_

* * *

_"Breaking News. The face of the suspect of the WBN mass shooting incident has been revealed. It is a male in his 60's whose whereabouts are still unknown. He is currently wanted by the police."_

Will was watching the news from a TV in the Emergency Area, trying to understand what was happening.

And seeing the face of his father on the manhwa's news report wasn't helpful.

"What is going on?!" _Why did Dad change the story again...? And so frighteningly at that._ Will thought to himself. _What is he trying to do?_ Will looked away from the TV and around the still busy ER, his mind still full of questions. _Why did I come here again? Nico di Angelo can't even recognize me..._

* * *

While Will wondered, Nico was talking privately to Reyna.

"There's chaos because someone wrongly reported that you are critically injured." She told him, serious. "Do an interview." She suggested to him. "I will call the reporters to the lobby."

"Okay." Nico agreed.

"CEO di Angelo!" Percy screamed down the hallway and Nico imagined he had news about his father. "I got a call from the police." Not exactly what I had in mind...

"Did they find him?"

"No. It was a false report." Percy admitted, frustrating everyone. "They still could not determine where he entered and how he left. There's no video that caught him going in and out of the studio." That makes absolutely no sense... Nico decided to deal with that later, right now, he had to calm everyone down.

The reporters hadn't gone far and, as soon as they saw Nico, they hurried closer, knowing he had something to say.

"The report that stated that I'm critically injured is not true." Nico began his statement, serious. "I was not at the scene, and I am not hurt anywhere."

"Did you see the video message that the culprit sent?" One reporter asked him.

"Yes, I saw it." Nico agreed with him.

"No matter how I see it, it was directed to you." The reporter insisted. "What does he mean by '10 years ago'?"

"I will be asking you, Mr. Reporter." Nico turned the question around to him. "What could he mean by that?"

"I hear it as a confession that he is the culprit who killed your family 10 years ago." The reporter deduced on his own. Though, he had to ask. "Do you really think the culprit today is the same culprit?"

"Didn't he say it himself, that he appeared after 10 years." Nico continued the reporter's line of thought.

"Then the real culprit is someone else, and that the prosecution wrongfully pinned you for the crime." Another reporter jumped to the conclusion and Nico decided to put a stop to it.

"Even though this is not the situation to be talking about that right now, someone will have to take responsibility for that problem later." Nico acknowledged to the crowd. "For losing the real culprit and framing the victim as the culprit. And for raising a monstrous murderer after ten years."

"Are you talking about Assemblyman Zeus Olympia?"

"Even though I don't say it outright, the whole country knows." Nico decided that everyone should take their own conclusion. "And he himself will know it well."

With that, the interview was over.

* * *

On the other side of the city, the man the reporters were talking about was lashing out at his employees for suggestions that could help his career.

But the hatred and stubbornness were stronger than common sense.

* * *

Will was working on a shooting patient that was lying on the floor when another doctor walked to him.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Pardon?" Will was so focused on what he was doing he didn't recognize the dangers of the question.

"I don't think that's a gown from our hospital. Who are you that you are in here-" The doctor pointed out but Will immediately interrupted him with a vague excuse.

"I guess my coat got switched." He lied quickly. "My sister is a doctor too. We must have switched it at home." He continued before getting up and using his most professional voice. "This patient's lab work needs to be sent out and give him some antibiotics. Also, notify the orthopedics department." He said before leaving his sight.

Will walked around the hospital, in hopes of avoiding the doctor. He even changed lab coats with some random doctor that were hung in the restroom. He raided the fridge in search of something to eat or drink before heading to the rooftop of the hospital. He knew he wouldn't be bothered there.

The last thing he expected was to see Nico di Angelo coming there too.

He tried to ignore him as much as he could but since they were the only two people in the rooftop, it was inevitable they saw each other, though Will waited for Nico to speak first. He even watched in silence as he cried away from everyone else. That made it worse for him.

"Mr. Solace." Nico acknowledged him and Will looked away after being caught. "Can a doctor drink alcohol in the hospital? Isn't everyone under emergency work mode right now?" It was obvious Nico was trying to push the attention away from what Will had presenced.

"For now, we aren't understaffed. Even the Emergency Room has enough help. And I'm not on duty either." He justified himself.

"Can you give me a sip?" Nico asked him, surprising Will. "I'm so desperate for a sip." Without even a second glance, Will handed Nico his drink- a small cardboard box of juice. Nico grabbed it and sat next to Will, who tried to avoid looking at him. "I feel like I can live again." Nico sighed before offering the juice to Will.

"You can drink it all." Will told him, surprised again by him. And to prove his point, Will pulled out another box of juice from his pocket.

"Thank you." Nico thanked him and Will got caught again looking at him. "Why do you keep on looking at me that way?" He wanted to know. "It's been bothering me from the start. Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"You resemble him." Will began, not looking at him.

"Me? With whom?"

"My husband." Will replied with confidence, drinking his juice.

"Was that a wedding ring? No wonder." Nico pointed at the ring Will had hanging from his neck. Before any of them could say anything else, Nico's phone rang. "Yes, hello." He answered. "Yeah, I'm in the rooftop for a while. Okay. I will be there." Nico hung the call before getting up. "Thank you for the drink." He said before leaving the rooftop, Will's eyes following him.

That was the beginning of hard days for Will inside the manhwa.

He would sneak for some sleep and food- and sometimes, hygiene products -from the restroom. He would eventually have one or two meals in the cafeteria- where the food was not the best.

When roaming the hospital to avoid getting seen, Will would catch glimpses of Nico when he was in the hospital. Of course, his Uncle was still there, recovering from his injuries. He wouldn't dare to talk to him again.

He would catch up with the events while watching the news on the waiting area, his brain trying to understand what needed to happen for him to either return to his world or to fix what was wrong.

The cycle of sneaking around was broken after he got caught and chased out of the hospital. It was while sitting on the curb, hungry and tired, that he had his idea... though time would tell it wasn't his best one.

He sneaked into Reyna Ramirez's home.

_I'm so sorry. This is not what I want to do, either..._ Will justified his breaking in actions in his mind. He really hoped that no one would ever know of his presence but what Will ignored that he wasn't just an extra character.

He was bound to find Nico eventually.


	29. Episode 10, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 10: Part 2**

* * *

Nico wanted to use his time wisely while waiting.

The problem was that Reyna didn't have in hand the documents he needed.

"I must have left them at home." Reyna admitted and Nico sighed. Since the shooting in the studio, everyone's been jumpy and stressed. Especially since they were all going to the funeral of the victims. "I'll go get them-"

"Nevermind. I can get it." He assured her.

"You're sure, Nico?" Reyna looked at him before insisting. "I can go and come back-"

"What is your passcode? What numbers?" Nico switched the topic though not entirely. Reyna saw no other option than to give in.

"2405." Reyna gave in, sighing. "They are on top of the kitchen table, alright?" Nico smirked at her and headed towards her house. He tried not to focus on everything else. He reached the apartment in a short time, after all, Reyna lived near the hospital. Following instructions, he wrote the passcode and walked in, immediately seeing the document where Reyna left it.

But he also saw something else.

He saw a pot on the fire and Reyna's cabinet door opened wide. Knowing his friend wasn't this careless, he drew the only conclusion left.

Someone else was in the house.

Deciding to trap whoever was in, he began talking loudly, as if he was talking on the phone.

"Hello." He began talking to someone. "I found it. I'll be leaving now." He took some loud steps towards the door and even opened it to give the impression of him actually leaving when he'd only be waiting by the entrance of the master room, as evidently there was no one in the living room.

The following five seconds of absolute silence- and not even given the intruder time to show its face -were broken when Nico kicked open the master room's door, pushing along and towards the floor at whoever was standing behind it.

"Ow!" Nico heard someone complain. He saw a person lying on his front on the floor with blonde hair. It was obviously a male. He kneeled down to turn him around but the intruder struggled, giving proof that he didn't want his face revealed. Nico's patience was running low when he pulled a strength show and pulled him around, surprising him even more.

"Mr. Solace?" He recognized him and Will gave a resigned look that Nico couldn't understand. He ignored that for a moment and pulled him up, taking him to the living room. There, Nico sat him on the couch and took a picture of him, to send to Reyna to identified while Frank- who had gone with him for protection after the latest incident -walked into the room as back up.

Seconds later, Reyna replied.

_It's my first time seeing her. Who is she?_

"The homeowner says she doesn't know you." Nico said out loud though Will seemed to be ignoring him. Properly ignoring him with not even looking in his direction. "How did you know the password?" Nico wanted to know but Will kept silence. "Look here, Will Solace... If you don't explain properly, I will call the police immediately." He threatened him but Will stayed the same. "Speak. Why are you here? I asked why are you here." He repeated and Will finally mumbled something.

"I was hungry."

"What?" Nico was sure he misheard.

"Because I was so hungry. I starved for four days." Will explained, evidently trying not to lose what little control he had on him. Not that Nico knew anything about that.

"How does that make sense? If you're hungry you should go to buy food. Why come here?" Nico was really curious as why prompted this man to do this. _Was all this for food...?_

"Because I don't have any money." Will confessed, still not looking at him.

"How can you not have any money? You're a doctor." This was weirder and weirder for Nico.

"I'm not a doctor." Will said though Nico could sense he was lying. "I'm not a doctor in that hospital. You were mistaken." He added, making this all more strange to Nico.

"You're not a doctor, but why were you in the ER that day?" Nico pointed out but Will didn't answer. "It's not just simple burglary. Call the police." He ordered Frank who nodded.

"Yes." Frank left immediately, leaving Nico alone with Will.

"You know what the situation is these days, right? Even if it is a small doubt, I cannot pass without verification." Nico justified his actions but Will didn't even move. "The police will be here soon, so you can testify at the police station."

"Okay." Will agreed, surprising Nico.

"Is it okay if they lock you up?" He repeated, surprised.

"It's better there. They give you food, and there's a place to sleep." Will said, evidently trying not to show his emotions.

"You don't even know what a detention center is." Nico argued to him. "You must think it's some kind of hotel but-"

"I know what it's like. I've been there many times before." Will interrupted him, still not looking at him. "Just turn me over to the police and leave." Will finished the conversation and finally looked at him. "But, before they come, can I eat some ramen? The water is boiling already... I'm just so hungry right now..." He muttered and Nico couldn't believe what he was about to do.

Nico thought it was slightly sad watching Will observing the pot of water with longing while he cooked the ramen.

"What is your name?" Nico decided to break the silence, watching at him.

"Will Solace."

"Your real name." Nico insisted.

"Will Solace."

"Where is your house? What's your address?" Nico was conducting the interrogation that the police was supposed to do with ease and Will seemed familiar with the procedure.

"I don't have one."

"You don't have a family?"

"No."

"I thought you said you were married." Nico remembered, making Will look at him. "You said your husband resembled me." By the look Will gave him, it meant he wasn't supposed to ask. Thankfully, the ramen was done by then and Nico handed the full pot to Will without another word. Will blew into the pot before eating a handful.

"Ah... hot!" He complained, immediately dropping the food back on the pot. "Ow, that hurts so much..." He sighed and touched his lip. It seemed like he had been hurt when he got caught.

"That should hurt." Nico scolded and Will glanced at him before eating the food, not caring if he got hurt again. Damn it my conscience... He headed to the bathroom to get some medicine for the wound. "Just a moment." He told him when he returned, surprising Will when he got closer to apply it on his lip. "It's going to hurt for a couple of days." He announced while Will's eyes opened in shock until he reacted.

"It's okay." He pushed his hand away but Nico was stubborn too.

"Just stay still." Nico continued but Will really didn't want to.

"It's fine. Stop." He raised his voice a little.

"You said it hurt."

"I said to stop!" It seemed like all that interaction was getting a reaction from Will, a reaction Nico was hoping to see before and not the indifferent act. "Why do you keep touching me, so that I will keep having lingering regrets?" His words were confusing to Nico but he let him talk. "I tried not to bump into you. For over a week, I was homeless and stole, but I didn't ask you for money. I tried not to get involved in your life!" He explained, his bottled up emotions coming up. "But why did you suddenly appear, give me medicine, kindness and such? Really pissing me off!"

"Um.. why are you getting mad?" Nico didn't understand half the things he was talking about.

"I did get married. This... is my wedding ring." He showed Nico the ring. "But I don't have a husband. So even if I want someone to come, no one will."

"If you got married, why don't you have a husband?"

"He disappeared! He didn't die, we didn't divorce, but he just disappeared!" Will's rant didn't seem to be over, just got quieter. "We didn't even do anything. Just, four sweet, romantic gestures. He only did those four things for me and disappeared. After one day together." He recalled, wiping his tears, before looking at Nico. "It's funny, right? He never told me that he loved me either. It was always me confessing, and then he disappeared." Nico simply listened, feeling a bit awkward with all this confession. "Ugh, this is so unfair... I tried to forget him, for his happy ending. But what kind of happy ending is this? If it was going to be like this, I don't know why we went our separate ways." Will reasoned, angry. "He can't even recognize me, so I don't know why I'm here! Even if I want to go home, there's no possible way too! I don't know anyone here and I don't even have money!"

"Am I lacking in comprehension?" Nico asked himself, uncomfortable. "I can't understand anything you're saying."

"Who told you that you'd understand? Never mind what I said." Will dismissed him before going back to eat. Nico stared at him before being interrupted by Frank who had returned with some police officers.

Time to make decisions.

* * *

Will couldn't understand what was going on.

He had gotten caught breaking in and stealing by no other than Nico di Angelo. As if his time inside the manhwa couldn't be worst, he had decided to turn him to the police. Sure, being a cell meant food, sleep and no contact to him, which was torture. But Nico did something to surprise him.

He had decided not to turn him over.

So now, Will was sitting in the back of Nico's car, wondering what was happening.

"Why aren't you turning me over?" Not that he was complaining about it, but he was honestly curious.

"You seem to think that the police are easier than me." Nico spoke to him as soon as he sat in the backseat with him. "I feel like I'm going to get the short end of a stick if I hand you over to the police." Now, it was Will who didn't understand.

"What do I have? I'm just a burglar." Will pointed out, even if he didn't want to consider himself that.

"Start driving." Nico ordered Frank, who was in the driver's seat, ignoring Will while reading the documents he had been looking for since the beginning of this mess.

"Why are you like this?" Will mumbled. "I told you not to pay attention to me."

"Your choice of words is strange. It's not attention, it's suspicion." Nico explained to him. _Is he serious...?_ A phone call broke the silence between them. "Yes, Uncle." Nico answered before listening. "At the company. I'm meeting with the families of the deceased. To discuss the compensation." Nico lied. "Yes, I understand." He hung up before talking to Frank. "Go to Highland General Hospital first."

"Yes."

Will only wondered what would happen now.

* * *

_"Even now, when a week has passed since the incident, the location of the culprit is still unknown. About 80% of the public believes that the culprit for this shooting is responsible for the murder of Nico di Angelo's family in 2009. Over 70% of the public believes that the person who is fundamentally responsible for this incident is the prosecutor at that time who accused Nico di Angelo of being the culprit. Otherwise known as Assemblyman Zeus Olympia. This incident will have a crucial effect on assemblyman Olympia's presidential election."_

* * *

On the other side of the city, a meeting that will turn out to be very important was happening after hearing the news.

"Once the murderer confessed with his own mouth, it's over." One of the high ranked politics that had supported Zeus Olympia's rise spoke to him. It was obvious that he didn't want to accept it yet.

"No, what that bastard said didn't mean that." Zeus was convinced of his words even when it was evident that he was hanging by straws of his career. "They are two separate cases that have nothing to do with each other. It's not like a witch hunt. How can you be like that without any solid evidence?" He defended himself but his companion was not that impressive.

"Look here. Ten people got shot and died, so it's game over." He announced before giving an order behind a suggestion. "Voluntarily resign."

"After coming all the way here, and now you want me to step down?" Zeus checked with him before getting a look from his companion.

"Don't drag the others with you, and just step down by yourself." Leaving his intentions clearer, the man left the office, leaving Zeus alone. By the shout released from his body, it was obvious that the ambitious politician wouldn't go down either quietly or easy. Any thoughts of what to next were interrupted by the ringing phone.

"Hello?" Zeus tried to put an even voice to hide his anger but the voice on the other side surprised him.

_"Assemblyman Zeus Olympia?"_

"Who is this?" Zeus wanted to know, already dreading that it was some journalist that had gotten his personal number.

_"Don't you know who I am?"_ The voice replied. _"I'm the most famous person in this country."_

"What are you?"

_"I called for encouragement. You might've been thinking about suicide because of me."_ That gave Zeus a bad feeling. There was only one person in the entire country that could fit the description at this moment and that was the '**W**' network mass shooter. Immediately started to record his call, for safety measures.

"You..."

_"That's right! It's me."_ The voice agreed, not even letting him talk. Evidently, he was happy about something. _"If I get caught, do you know what you will do?"_ The voice taunted him before giving him the answer. _"I know. You... are going to kill me. You're going to send thugs to me, and disguise it as suicide. And you will make a fake suicide note to blame Nico di Angelo."_ _As plans go, is not a bad one..._

"You crazy bastard. What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Zeus replied, trying to save face.

_"You were just having those thoughts, right?"_ The voice pointed out, a bit happy. _"You were going to do that if I'm caught, right?"_ The voice took Zeus' silence as an answer. _"That's right. You will kill me because you want to become the president. Like how you argued for a death sentence for Nico di Angelo ten years ago because you wanted to engage in politics. I know everything."_ Zeus listened to the ramble, a bit of fear running through his body. _"Should I tell you what will happen to us in the future? For Nico di Angelo's happy ending, we bite each other to death, a futile death. But is there a need among ourselves to do that? Who is going to benefit from that? I will make you the president."_ The voice promised him.

"What?"

_"I'll help you."_ The voice insisted, sounding happier and happier. _"I know so many things about Nico di Angelo."_

_Looks like I have a new associate..._


	30. Episode 10, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 10: Part 3**

* * *

After a while, Nico and Will arrived at the hospital.

"You should stay here and keep an eye on this man." Nico ordered Frank, who nodded from the front seat.

"Yes." As soon as Nico left the car, Will saw an opportunity to find information.

"The culprit hasn't been caught yet?"

"No."

"I saw in the news that there is not even a single clue. Is that true?"

"It's exactly like the news."

_Thanks for the talk, Frank... What now...?_

* * *

Meanwhile, Apollo was being ordered around by Orcus and forced to fulfill his demands.

_"You will write some dialogue for me. Write it down."_ Apollo's hands searched for the keyboard, like a doll waiting to be moved. _"First, Nico di Angelo's line..."_ As Apollo was trapped in his own body and mind without a possibility to escape, he couldn't express his horror at what Orcus was dictating him. _"Now, Hades di Angelo..."_

This was definitely neither in Nico's or his plans.

* * *

Nico was knocking on the door of his Uncle's room and wasn't surprised at all to hear his Aunt Sally.

"Yes?"

"I'm here." Nico announced himself, walking in.

"Oh my, Nico. Welcome." Sally Jackson had no problem addressing her nephew the way it was supposed to be. "Honey, Nico is here." Sally said to Poseidon with a smile though Poseidon didn't seem to share that happiness. And Nico noticed it. "You've had a hard time, right? Have you eaten?" _Typical Aunt Sally..._

"I have." Nico nodded to his Aunt, smiling.

"Sally, can you step out for a moment?" Poseidon spoke, surprising everyone.

"What?" Sally seemed confused about that, and so was Nico.

"Make sure nobody comes in." Poseidon asked her and Sally sighed.

"I got it. Drink something from the refrigerator." She offered Nico who nodded while watching her leave the room. As soon as his Aunt left the room, Nico tackled the elephant in the room: his Uncle's bad mood.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah. There is." Poseidon agreed with him, his expression never changing. "On the day of the incident, some mail came to me." He began explaining to his nephew. "Since it's been hectic, I just checked it. Someone sent me information."

"Do you mean about the culprit?" Nico quickly connected the dots.

"Yes." Poseidon nodded before turning somber. "But not about this incident, but the incident ten years ago." That surprised Nico to the core but part of him was hopeful about what had been sent. "It's an audio file. Listen to it."

What came out of the player shocked every drop of blood in Nico.

_"Don't interfere!"_ His own voice came out, shouting in anger. _"What right do you have, Father!"_ _What- what is this...?_

_"How dare you come in after drinking and say that! You bastard!"_ _That- that's Dad's voice... how...?_

_"I told you that I'm not going to hold back if you hit me one more time!"_ Nico's world seemed to be spiraling down, hearing himself shouting those words.

_"Honey, please stop this! Nico, you stop too!"_ _M- Mom...?_

_"You son of a b*tch. Get out. Never come back home again."_ No... _"I don't consider a bastard like you my child. Let's severe our ties!"_ _No... Dad would have never said something like that..._ _"I can't believe I considered you my son all these years-"_

**_Bang!_**

_"H-Honey!"_

"W- what is this?" Nico had the courage to ask, shaken up and staring at the small player that was laid on bed.

"That's what I want to ask. What is this?" Poseidon repeated, showing his sadness to his nephew. "CEO di Angelo... No, _Nico_." Nico looked at his Uncle, there had been years since he didn't call him by his name. "From that day till now, I truly never doubted that you are innocent for even a moment. But, what is this?" It was obvious that Poseidon was trying to find some logic to this, to understand but Nico was too shook up to answer yet. "That day, you told me that you didn't even go home. But, what is this?"

"It is fabricated." Nico's mouth finally let out some words after his shock.

"Fabricated?" Poseidon repeated

"Yes, fabricated." Nico assured his Uncle, nodding. "It doesn't make sense. We didn't have a conversation like this!"

"How can this be possible?" Poseidon didn't seem to understand but neither did Nico. "I remember your parents' voices." _I do too, Uncle..._ "How can someone manipulate the voices of the people who died ten years ago?" _My thoughts exactly, Uncle..._ "If you have anything you are hiding from me, tell me. Perhaps, could it be you were too drunk to remember?" It was plain clear that whether the evidence was real or not, had created a bridge between Uncle and nephew.

"Right now... are you suspecting me?" Nico couldn't believe he was saying those words. Or that his Uncle could think that of him.

"I want to know the truth." Poseidon confessed. "Nico, right now, I'm so scared. Did you really commit no sin?"

"Who sent you this?" Nico wanted to know, angry at whoever had sent that. "This makes no sense. I don't know how the voice memo was made, but-"

Nico's world came crashing down as he watched one of the only relatives he had left being pierced by a bullet. Right through the heart.

It was like reliving the moment he found his family dead on the floor but this time, he was in the room. He didn't have time to think, he tried to shook his Uncle awake- an impossible action, he realized later on -but he couldn't.

Nico's shocks didn't stop there as, from literally thin air, a gun materialized in his bloody hand- the one he had used to shake his Uncle awake. Nico stared at the gun as if he never had seen one before, but that wasn't what was running through his mind. Only the thought of the gun materializing was impossible to explain.

Soon, the whole thing turned slightly blurry and fast when people began walking into the room. Evidently, the shot hadn't been silent and attracted people.

Between them, his Aunt Sally and two police officers that were on the floor.

Between the screams and shouts, Nico reached pretty quickly to the conclusion that he was being framed. As soon as the officers saw the gun, they made the move to point at him but Nico was faster and pointed right back at them. He never planned to hurt them but he had to get out of that place. He cornered them away from him before reaching the door and dashing out of the hospital with, no doubt, the entire police force following him.

On his way out, he encountered another officer coming up the elevator. He quickly knocked him down before choosing a different route, people shouting at him from behind. He quickly found a set of emergency stairs and took those down to the lobby.

"Stop! Or I will shoot!" Someone had caught up with him and started to shoot at him through the stairs. Nico shielded from the bullets out of instincts and kept running to his destination. As soon as he crossed the front door of the hospital, he headed towards his car where Frank was coming out to greet him.

"CEO." Without time to waste, Nico grabbed Frank by the arm and pulled him away from the driver's door.

"Get out of the car." He immediately got behind the wheel and turned the car on, completely forgetting that Will was inside the car. The officers were trying to stop him by placing themselves in front of the car but Nico knew they would move away as soon as he kept moving. Nico stepped into the accelerator and ignored all calls, even Frank's.

"What's... What's going on? Where are you going?" Will made himself noticed by asking what was happening but Nico ignored it. The phone ringing was quickly answered.

"Hello?"

_"What happened?"_ Percy's voice came out worried and Nico felt even worse now. _"Mom is crying in Dad's room. What did you-"_

"It's a setup." He interrupted his cousin who seemed to control himself upon hearing that.

_"What do you mean?"_

"The police won't be able to solve this, so I ran away. I'll contact you later. I'm sorry, cousin." He added at the end, finishing the call. Out of instincts, he placed his hand in the abdomen when feeling pain and saw a few drops of blood.

Sadly for him, he wasn't the only one that saw it.

"Did you get hurt? Where?" Will started to question him again.

"I will drop you off at a suitable place in a bit, so go on your own from there." Nico ignored that question and said something more logical. But Will wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"You- You didn't get hurt just now? Please stop!" He demanded him.

"There is no time to stop." Nico argued and kept ongoing.

_What should I do now...?_

* * *

After a few miles with the car running and Nico complaining because of the pain, Will had enough.

"Stop the car. I'll drive." He told him but Nico was pretending to ignore him. "Stop it! At this rate, both of us are going to die!" Will pointed out and Nico had no other choice than to do as told. Pulling on the side of the road, Nico somehow allowed Will to take control of the situation. He got out of the back seat and opened the driver's door. "Sit in the back." He ordered him but Nico kept on the stubborn streak.

"You can go your own way now. I am being chased by the police right now." Nico insisted again. "Your burglary earlier is nothing compared to this. No good will come to you if you get into this."

"Where would I go? I told you I have nowhere to go." Will argued back to him. "I have nowhere to go and I don't know anyone, either. Get out already." Without waiting for an invitation or permission, Will helped Nico out of his seat and to the back seat before sitting on the driver's and starting the car again. "Why did you get hurt?" Nico wasn't in the sharing mood and Will didn't insist on that. "Give me your wallet. I have to buy medicine, but I have no money."

Nico, a little reluctant, handed him his wallet. Will knew he was low in trust now but he wasn't going to hurt him and right now, he was the only person who could look after him. He drove until he saw a little drugstore opened that late at night by the side of the road and parked to get the medicine needed. He headed to the counter directly and ordered.

"Can I have gauze, bandage, and iodine?"

"Please wait a moment." The clerk told him, kindly. While waiting, Will's attention was drawn by the nearby TV.

_"He died at around 6 o'clock. CEO Nico di Angelo attacked W Director Poseidon Jackson. Mr. Jackson was attacked during the mass shooting incident and was being treated in the hospital. It was revealed that he was shot by CEO Nico di Angelo's gun. Mr. di Angelo is currently on the run."_

"Did you look at that?" A woman that was at the store talked to the clerk. "I'm so shocked. Nico di Angelo killed a person and ran away!"

"I can't believe. Would Nico di Angelo really do that?" The clerk replied, a bit confused.

"Then why else would he have run away? It's because he really killed him!" The woman said and finally, Will understood better what had happened since he arrived back to the manhwa.

Nico and Apollo's plan to get rid of the real culprit had failed.

The manhwa turned into a world moved by the true culprit's will. A world that ruled by antagonists.

Will quickly paid for the medicine and left the store before they could ask more questions. He rushed back to the car.

"Is there anywhere you can stay in? Somewhere you can hide." He began talking before realizing that Nico was minutes away from passing out because of the amount of blood loss while holding his lower hip. "Where do we go? Where should we go?" He spoke to himself, starting the car. He drove trying not to attract attention until he saw a hotel on the way. In desperation, he pulled there and parked in the lot before asking for a room. Once the key was on his power, he returned to get Nico. "Get your grip together. Can you get upright?" His questions were more to keep him awake than to actually get a reply. Will helped him sit up and pulled him out of the car, carrying half his weight on him. He took him straight to the elevator, forcing him to keep his head down. "Don't lift up your head. You will be recorded by the CCTV."

"Did we know each other before?" Nico questioned him. "Do you know me?" _Not the time for those answers, Nico..._ Thankfully, the elevator helped.

"We are here. Let's get out." Will helped him out, guiding him towards their room which coincidentally, was the last one of the hallway. "Hold in it a little longer. We're almost here. Endure it a little longer." He encouraged him, ignoring the trail of blood and signals they were leaving behind. As soon as they were inside the room, Will laid Nico on the bed and turned the nearest light before getting clean towels to help to press on the wound while sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why are you crying?" Nico surprised him and Will ignored both the tears on his cheeks and Nico's question. "Why are you crying? Am I going to die?"

"No, you're not. And when was I crying?" Will argued to him before checking the wound and applying some iodine on it, making it sting for Nico.

"Where are we?" Nico asked him, barely looking around.

"We're at a hotel." Will recognized before grabbing some gauze to wrap around the wound, though it was tricky because of the place. "I tried to find a place where you can be unseen, but this place is still risky." He acknowledged to him, still concentrated in his work. "You were framed, right? For something ridiculous. That's why you ran away, right?" The look of surprise in Nico was evident. "I will try to find out what happened and how to resolve this." Will promised before still talking about it. "It seems like something big happened, but I don't know what happened exactly right now. It's dangerous for you to stay here, and you need more medicine to be treated." He pointed out, serious. "So I have to leave here. You can endure well by yourself, right?"

"Look here, Will Solace-" Looked like Nico was ready to argue but Will didn't let him this time.

"Just endure a little longer and wait." He repeated.

"I don't understand anything that you're saying. What are you saying now?" Nico wanted to know and Will could see how not knowing was driving him a little crazy. "How are you going to help me?" Will thought what to say before replying.

"I am someone who wants your life to be a happy ending." Nico frowned, mostly in confusion. "That way, our parting will not be in vain." Will's stare was intense and whatever was Nico thinking before, he wasn't thinking it now.

"Will Solace... Who are you?"

"I must get out of here." Will insisted. "So I really hope that this will work again."

Upon Nico's confusing face, Will slowly leaned forward until he was hovering Nico. With the same gentleness that differenced it from their first time, Will leaned down to place a soft kiss on Nico's lips, ignoring his shocked face.

It didn't last long and Will soon leaned back to glance at Nico, who was still as confused, before hearing and seeing the words '**To Be Continued**' materialize by the wall, away from Nico's line of vision. Will wasted no time and, with one last look to Nico, rushed out of the hotel room through the front door...

To appear back from where he left.


	31. Episode 11, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 11: Part 1**

* * *

Will was lucky that he returned to his world from the exact same spot where he had left.

That meant, he had access to the medical instruments and medicines that he needed to save Nico. He immediately started to search on the shelves and cupboards, pulling strange instruments- strange instruments for everyone else but those who are doctors. He grabbed all those supplies and placed them on a bag before leaving the hospital.

He only had one stop: his father's house.

He was surprised when seeing the gate opened and walked into the house, calling for Kayla.

"Kayla!" He looked around the house, looking slightly empty of people. At least, no one was answering. "Kayla!" He called again when seeing the grocery bags. "Dad?" He tried, knocking on the bedroom's door before walking in. "Dad." He sighed when he saw Apollo sat down on his chair, his back facing him. "Dad, why did you do it? You wanted to end it with a happy ending but... why did you kill all those people and why did you frame Nico di Angelo?" Will began ranting, not understanding why his father had taken that direction. "Can't you just make everyone happy?" Upon not getting a reply, Will walked around the desk Apollo was sitting next to...

Only to get the shock of his life seeing his father with no face.

Will rushed out of the room and the house, with the impression Apollo would chase him but when he reached the front garden, he realized it wasn't the case.

Realizing that could be what Kayla did, run away from the house without closing the gate, he decided to call her, to see where was she.

She answered after the first ring.

_"Hello? Big Bro Will... Big Bro Will, where are you?"_ Kayla's voice was anxious. _"I came to the hospital but you're not here, why?"_

"I'm at the office and dad... What happened?" Will managed to ask, trying not to lose it.

_"It's gone..."_ Kayla stammered, her fear coming back. _"Master... His face disappeared."_

"I know! What happened?" Will wanted to keep her on track.

_"He doesn't have eyes... Nor a nose and lips..."_ It was obvious that Kayla was still in shock. _"I- I passed out and I heard voices inside the room... I ran away from there but... He was d-d-drawing as what he was told to do."_

"Then... The culprit is making dad draw all of this?" Will checked, connecting the dots with his theory that something had gone wrong.

_"I don't know. I don't know-"_ Kayla muttered over and over. _"I'm just- just- I'm so scared!"_ She sobbed over the phone.

"Then what will happen to dad?"

_"Big Bro! I told you I didn't know! It's dangerous here so hurry and leave, please?"_ Kayla insisted.

"Nico di Angelo got shot by a gun. If I leave him like that, he might die." Will argued back.

_"If the worst happens, you will die first. I told you Master wasn't Master!"_ Kayla repeated, raising her voice. _"So... Hurry and leave. Close the door too."_ Kayla finished the conversation hanging up, leaving Will with three alternatives.

One, wait until someone- preferably Kayla, otherwise it would be really hard to explain -came and go in together.

Two, walk away and do absolutely nothing.

Three, sneak back in there and do what has to be done.

Will took his decision quick and sneaked back inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. He slowly and silently opened the master's bedroom door and noticed that his father was still in the same spot where he left him- that meant he didn't even get up to chase him.

Seeing as he wasn't making any kind of movements while he was advancing towards him, Will aimed to grab a hold onto the drawing tablet. His hands gently placed on the edges of the tablet...

Only for another hand to grab hold of his.

* * *

Nico was trying to hold onto his sense while waiting for Will when he heard voices in the hallway.

_"Hello?"_ A woman's voice greeted.

_"We're police. Let us search for a moment."_ Nico's senses were in high alert. He knew why the police could be here and that, eventually, they would reach his room.

_"We are searching for a suspect. Please excuse us for a moment."_ Another officer informed the woman. While the officers were busy inspecting the room next to his, Nico began turning the lights off in his, feeling a tremendous amount of pain when he reached out for the gun- that was far away from him. A few minutes later, Nico heard them leave the room. _"Thank you for your cooperation."_ They thanked the woman before talking to themselves. _"Next?"_

_"Room 213."_

Without Nico or the officials' knowledge, the door belonging to room 213 began disappearing, along with the blood that Nico had let dropped involuntarily. So, as Nico was ready to defend himself, he was surprised as the officers when he heard them talk.

_"What is this? There is no room 213."_

_"Is it incorrectly listed?"_

_"We checked the second floor. Going up to the third floor." _Evidently, they were talking to someone else and Nico heard their footsteps walking away from the door.

Only then, he relaxed and laid the gun to the side.

* * *

Meanwhile, Will had managed to lock his father out of the bedroom.

He drew really fast, knowing that both Nico didn't have much time and that his father would continue to go after him.

The first thing he did was to erase the door of the hotel room where Nico was.

This action was followed by cleaning the drops of blood that Nico had left behind him in the hallway.

The surveillance camera that was inside the elevator that they took also disappeared.

His next step was changing not only the color of the car but also the license plate. It was easier than to erase the car whole and draw a new one.

After all their tracks were covered, Will pulled out the medical instruments that he had 'borrowed' from the hospital and began drawing them, one by one, all while listening to his father trying to barge in. However, his concentration didn't waver. He was as focused as he would be in surgery.

He just hoped the door hang on there a bit longer.

He just hoped Nico could hang on there a bit longer.

* * *

Nico was battling consciousness.

Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the scene of his family dead on the floor with no apparent reason.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see his Uncle Poseidon asking him questions about what had happened to his family, his voice resonating in his mind. The insecurity in his voice-

The gunshot that ended his life.

Thankfully, his nightmares wouldn't continue for now.

Out of nowhere, the ringing of an alarm clock started to sound, making Nico open his eyes wide and awake. His head turned to where the sound was coming from, lighting the night stand's lamp and was surprised that, not only there was an alarm clock where there wasn't one before... but that the bloody towels were gone and replaced with medical instruments.

There was only one logical explanation for all of this. Nico hoped so.

"Mr. Solace, is it you?" He mumbled out, looking around. "Please, answer me. Where are you?" For the first time in his life since the death of his family, Nico was scared and felt he couldn't trust anyone. His attention was soon on a note that laid on top of the instruments, a note Nico only imagined came from Will.

_Come to your senses and get up._

_I can't go there right now._

_So you have to treat yourself. Please get up._

Nico couldn't continue reading, as his head collapsed on the pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

Before Will could finish drawing, the tablet light up out of nowhere and surprised him.

_"Who are you?"_ Will's eyes opened in surprise listening to the voice and dropped the stylus pencil he was holding. _"Are you Will Solace? When did you go out?"_ Before Will had time to react, two hands were immediately on his neck, wrapping around it.

The intention was clear: choke him to death.

Will began to struggle for air, while his own hands were trying to separate those aliens of his body. Despite being fictional hands, said hands were strong and Will was finding hard to achieve his task. While one of his hands continued to try to break the attacker's, his other hand tried to reach out for anything that could be used as a weapon, sadly with no luck.

With a bit of desperation, Will reached out for the only other thing that could be helpful at this moment. He reached his hand out for the top of the tablet and pressed the power button off.

The hands disappeared from around his neck, sending the killer back to his world, and, curiously, his father stopped trying to break in.

Panting while recovering air, Will went to check on his silent father, only to find him on the floor, passed out.

"Dad?" Will called him, unsure yet. Apollo didn't move upon hearing him so Will knelt next to him and tried again by touching his shoulder. Nothing happened, no reaction out of him. "Dad..." Will stared at his faceless father, not sure what to do. So far, his only solution was to lay him on his bed, in his old childhood room so he could work without interference.

_He will pay..._ Will promised himself. _Orcus will pay for what he did to him... and for what he did to Nico..._

Once back in the master bedroom, Will stared at the powered-off tablet with his complete attention. So much attention, that he had missed Kayla walking back into the house.

"Big Bro... Big-" Kayla was speaking softly as if she didn't want to get caught but lost all pretense when she saw him. "I thought something happened to you because you didn't come." Will didn't even answer her, his focus was on the tablet. "Are you okay? Oh! Are you okay, Big Bro?" Kayla freaked out the minute she saw the marks Will had around his neck. "What about Master?"

"I laid him down in the room and locked the door. I had no choice." Will justified himself, his voice trying to sound impassive. Kayla's curious face meant that Will had to explain what had happened. "He tried to attack me when I grabbed the tablet. I managed to lock him out the room and began to draw but the killer saw me and began to strangle me." Kayla's gasp was inevitable. "Tried to shake it off but was strong. When I turned off the tablet, Dad suddenly became quiet."

"Why? If we turn off the power then he loses communication with the real culprit?" Kayla reasoned and Will nodded.

"Looks like it, even though I'm also confused." He admitted, looking at her.

"Then what do we do about Master?" Kayla wondered but Will was unsure of his answer.

"Should we make it appear as a dream, just like the last time?" He suggested.

"A dream? A dream... A dream! Right, we should do it!" Kayla repeated in agreement. "Should we go back in time? When Nico di Angelo was very young, 10 years ago. Before his family died. A dream that occurred even before the culprit appeared!" It was obvious that Kayla was really excited about her solution, one could see it in her face. "Then it'll nip the bud, right?" Will nodded but had a problem.

"But we can't turn on the power. What if the culprit is waiting for me to turn this on?" He pointed out, angry. "I can't draw anything right now." He finished rubbing his face to hide his tiredness.

"What do we do then?" Kayla asked him. Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door and Lee, who had accompanied Kayla to the house, made his entrance.

"Will Solace!" He called out, looking at the room. "Woah so that's his father's office..." He mumbled before turning to a tired Kayla. "What about Will?"

"He's here." Kayla gestured to her right, though Lee's reply surprised her.

"Where?" Tired to play around with Lee and too scared about recent events, Kayla turned to see Will...

But Will wasn't there.

Again.

* * *

Will, somehow, had landed again in the manhwa.

But he didn't realize it until someone spoke his name.

"Will Solace... Is Will Solace his real name?" Will looked from behind his hands and looked around the room. This wasn't his father's room, this was an office. And sitting next to him, without realizing that there was an intruder in the office, sat Zeus Olympia. The man was talking over the phone while looking at pictures of him, pictures that seemed to be taken from when Nico was escaping the hospital. "Who is Will Solace, that man? Right, then we have to start by looking for him. Then we'll catch _him_." Will's first instinct was to get out of the room but how to do that without being noticed? He took a step away from Zeus who was still on the phone, laughing, and crouched. "It's karma. It means that heaven is still on the side of justice and the world is still functioning properly." Will began to crawl towards the door, trying not to catch his attention. "I told you, Nico di Angelo is a psychopath. I knew it. It's most likely they'll drag it out once Nico di Angelo has been arrested. It's better for him to be shot to death." Will's heart stopped while hearing that but couldn't stop or he'll be discovered. "If he has the intent to be repentant, that's even better."

Unfortunately, his good luck will not last, as twisting the doorknob was louder than Will expected.

_Crap! He knows I'm here now!_

"Mister, who are you?" Zeus inquired. If he had been a non-threatening character, Will would have conceded that the question was valid. But not now. "Who are you to come in just like that?"

Will did the only thing that actually came to mind: opening fully the door and running away from the office under the astonished looks for the personal. What Will ignored was that his face left a lingering impression on Zeus Olympia that he had seen that man before.

And arriving at the right conclusion.

_What the hell? Why was I in Zeus Olympia's room?_ Will wondered to himself while running away from the building. _Why him?_ It was indeed weird until Will factored the pictures he had seen. _He is looking for me?_ _Did Zeus Olympia drag me in here?_ That thought alone was scary but that made more sense when matched with the words of the killer. _Then last time... Nico wasn't looking for me._ _The_ killer _was looking for me?_ _The protagonist wasn't looking for me?_

He needed to discover why now. He walked around until he reached a little store and walked in.

"Welcome." The guy behind the counter greeted him. Will simply nodded back in acknowledgment.

"What's today's date?" Weird question if there was one, but the guy answered truthfully and quickly.

"It's the 22nd."

"What time is it?" Will insisted, a little of relief crossing his face. The guy checked his phone before answering.

"Says it's 11 pm." _It means only two hours have passed..._

"Do you know what happened to Nico di Angelo?" Will had looked around before asking as if he didn't want to be caught.

"Nico di Angelo?" The guy repeated, confused.

"Yes, I couldn't watch the news." _Wow, I've become better liar... though, not technically lying..._

"Ah, he ran away." The guy gave him the answer, understanding now. "And I don't think they caught him yet."

"Thank you." Will thanked him before leaving the store. His plan was to take a taxi and get back to the hotel. But before he could even do that, something weird began to happen.

Time began to move faster. The people around him seemed to be part of a movie montage, of those used to show that time was moving faster inside the same movie. But not only the people, the sky changed from dark to blue, meaning at least a day had passed but the number of people passing by contradicted that.

When Will felt that time had stopped moving around him, and still in a great sense of amazement, he returned back to the store, finding the same guy behind the counter- though he doubted he remembered him.

"Welcome." The guy welcomed him inside like, for Will, had been less than five minutes.

"Excuse me... do you happen to know what date it is today?" _Why am I out of breath so easily? I need to exercise more..._

"Today? It's the 22nd."

"The 22nd?" _He said it was the 22nd earlier too..._ "It's not... the September 22nd?"

"Yes." _One month passed by..._

"Excuse me... Do you know what happened to Nico di Angelo?"

"Nico di Angelo?"

"Yes, I came back from overseas so I couldn't watch the news."

"He has fled and is still wanted, don't you know?" A customer that was getting closer to pay provided the answer he was looking for. "It's already been a month, but he's still at large, that punk."

"I heard he died. He ran away and got shot." The guy behind the counter offered his theory.

"He can't die that easily! He has to be caught and be punished!" The man disagreed, hotly. "He needs a sentence for life!" He finished his opinion by changing radically the topic. "I want to buy this."

Will didn't stay around after that exchange of words, the men didn't even notice he left. This time, he did hail a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the hotel he last had left Nico. The ride would have been silent... if it wasn't for the radio.

_"Approximately 300 or so members of the people's TV union gathered in front of the WVN's company building not to mandate the suspension of broadcasting, but to demonstrate for the closure of the network. WVN is the solely owned enterprise of Nico di Angelo who has disappeared-"_

"I'm sick to death of this news about Nico di Angelo." The driver complained, turning the radio off. "I want to stop hearing about this. All throughout the entire month. It's not like it's good news or anything. How could he have committed such heinous crime as a human being?" He mainly spoke to himself as Will was trying not to hear him, or at least not to pay attention to it. "He shot his father, shot himself... Audaciously pretended to be the prince of justice, and acting like a hero."

Is this what people now thought of him...?

* * *

_A/N at the end of the episode_


	32. Episode 11, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 11: Part 2**

* * *

After a while, Will arrived at the hotel.

Immediately, he rushed to the second floor and directly to where room 213 was supposed to be. Of course, the wall he had created was still there so he started to bang against it, thinking that Nico was still there.

"Are you there?" He talked to the wall. Luckily, no one was passing by. "Answer me! Are you there?" He pressed a little bit but still got no answer. He feared that the rumors and theories about what happened to him were wrong. He had to check one last thing, as erasing a door wasn't the only thing he had done. He rushed to the parking lot and saw that the getaway car was also missing. Will feared the worst but now he needed answers.

And there was only one person in this manhwa world that could help him now.

* * *

Percy Jackson was having a very bitter last day at work.

A month had passed since the incident in the hospital between his cousin Nico and his father Poseidon. His mother Sally had broken down in his funeral but had confessed in private that she didn't want to believe that a boy like Nico could have done something like this. Percy didn't want to believe it either, after all, Nico was his cousin.

But Sally admitted she couldn't shake the image of seeing Nico with a gun in the same room as Poseidon.

Seemed possible for Nico to be framed but how do you get framed when you're not carrying a weapon when you get in but you're carrying one getting out? Percy couldn't answer that question yet.

But for now, he was dealing with a ranting and bitter Reyna.

"He either died from the gunshot or didn't have the courage to come out and threw himself in a reservoir somewhere." Percy was still keeping quiet upon Reyna's conclusion. "It's either of those two. Aren't I right? If he just died, he's really evil. How can he just do that without saying anything?"

"Cousin." Frank interrupted them, saving Percy from Reyna. Frank's face said it was important, so they went apart to discuss whatever he wanted to say. "Someone is here."

"Who?"

"Will Solace." Percy's face said he couldn't believe it either. "I saw his face too. It's really him. He is asking to meet you."

"Where is he?" Percy wondered.

"On the hallway, outside the doors." Percy went to meet the man that had run away with Nico and what he saw was quite surprising. He was on the floor, curled up and with his sight unfocused. He didn't even notice when Percy closed the doors loudly.

"Mr. Solace?" He called his attention and Will immediately got up.

"Yes."

"You're Will Solace, right? The one who was in the car CEO di Angelo ran away in." Percy wanted to know.

"Yes." He agreed, nodding.

"The police were looking for you. Why did you come now?" Percy was curious as to why he was there and not in the police station. Or anywhere else, honestly.

"I had a situation." He replied though his face was empty.

"But why did you come, asking for me?" _That's the million-dollar question..._

"Nico di Angelo..." He hesitated a second but then, continued. "By any chance, do you know what happened to him?" _Why should I tell you?_ "After that happened, I couldn't see him. I was wondering if you knew anything about him."

"How can I know where he is? The police can't even find him." Percy tried to be political and give nothing away. "What relationship do you have with CEO di Angelo?"

"We have no relationship." Somehow, Percy could see the sadness of that statement. "Just- I'm just curious if he is alive or not." Will finished his statement. "I was wondering if he's even alive. I thought that he is dead. When I saw him for the last time, he was badly hurt. I shouldn't have left him like that. There wasn't enough medicine..." He confessed to Percy.

Percy saw something in Will's face, something that despite what he knew about this man- which was little to nothing -, he could trust him. His instincts had never failed him before. Plus, he had a promise to keep. He pulled out pen and paper and wrote the address he had learned by memory but that he couldn't keep in writing before handing it to Will.

"Go there." He told him, serious. Will looked at him, incredulous. _Is he... hopeful?_ "I'll call him in advance. CEO di Angelo kept looking for you." _The kid's obsession with you is unhealthy..._

"He's... alive?" Percy nodded and accompanied him towards the elevator.

"And please do me a favor." Percy added before any of them took their separate ways. "I don't know what relationship you have with CEO di Angelo, but advise him to turn himself in. Even if he endure a little longer, there is no way." He said what he kept in his heart. "If he wants a shorter sentence, he has to turn himself in soon. I can't help him anymore." Percy confessed to this stranger. "Please, convince him." He begged before letting him go.

And that was Percy Jackson's last act as a faithful employee.

He could do more as _just_ family.

* * *

The ride to Valhalla, New York wasn't that long, only 32 miles but they were eternal for Will.

He kept staring at the paper written by Percy to check that he wouldn't skip the stop. To be honest with himself, he didn't know what to say to Nico once he had him in front. Should he scold him for not staying inside the hotel room? Should he be happy that he was healthier than before- or at least, his gunshot had healed?

His mind was all over the place, he almost missed his stop.

He was greeted by a little bus stop in what seemed the outskirts of a little town. The stop wasn't alone as next to it was a big building- or at least a big building for the area. He didn't have to wonder if he was in the right place, the bus stop had big letters pronouncing he was at Valhalla. There was no doubt in Will's mind that the building next to it was the community center Percy had written about.

Now, he had to wait.

He lost track of time, watching the people coming and going, talking like neighbors and waiting and taking different buses that passed by. It was becoming a little uncomfortable to wait by the bus stop so Will switched positions once in a while. Standing, leaning. His favorite was hiding his face while sitting on the curb. He needed to stop looking at his watch.

What he needed to be doing is paying attention to other vehicles.

A white car had stopped right in front of him and he had completely ignored it. He also missed the driver pulling down the passenger's window to talk to him but Will only looked up when spoken directly.

"Mr. Solace." Will raised his head from his spot in surprise. "It's been a long time." Nico di Angelo smirking at him, face hidden under a baseball cup, made all thoughts jumped out of his mind. "Get in." Nico told him and Will wasted no time in getting up and climbing on board the car.

Here's when things became a little awkward.

* * *

Nico couldn't stand the silence.

So, he broke it.

"How have you been? It's nice to meet someone I haven't seen in a while." Nico admitted while driving, smiling softly. Upon not getting a reply, Nico insisted. "Say something. I'm excited because I finally have someone to talk to."

"I thought you died." Will finally spoke, lowly, but Nico heard him anyway.

"No way. You explained the treatment process so kindly to me." Nico smirked again while remembering that night.

_~FLASHBACK~_

_After waking up from passing out, Nico continued to read the note that he- correctly -assumed that Will had left him._

I couldn't give you a shot because I didn't have antibiotics. Find the antibiotics first. You need to inject that with an intravenous shot. Do what I say.

_Nico looked over the night stand and saw the little jar that contained the liquid antibiotics. He also grabbed one of the many disposable syringes that were there, they would come in handy later. He loaded the syringe and applied the antibiotics inside his body just like Will instructed him. Before continuing to read, Nico also applied some antibiotics near his wound._

When I looked at it before, the bullet was in deep. Even if it hurts, you must take it out yourself.

_Nico's eyes wided a little. Take out a_ bullet _from his own body? That's the kind of stuff that only happens in movies but he didn't have any other option now. He was congratulating himself by the idea of applying antibiotics around the wound as he knew the process was going to be painful because he had no one to help him. He reached out for the tweezers and immediately dug them inside his wound._

_If someone asked him later, he would lie and say it was manageable but in that moment, Nico di Angelo thought it was the most painful physical experience he had ever felt! He tried not to scream out as someone could hear him outside but some grunts were allowed to escape as relief. This was worse than a claw game as he couldn't see where he should move the tweezers to. After a few minutes of searching and holding, Nico was finally able to pull out the bullet that was inside his body._

_He was nowhere near to finish. He had to close the wound now to avoid more bleeding._

If you complete the suture, then you're finished. You did well.

_Along with the rest of the medical instruments that were there, there was medical fastener. In less pain than before, Nico sutured himself before falling fast asleep._

~FLASHBACK~

What Nico was not telling Will was that he had tormented himself with the supposedly recording of the day his family died. Nor that strange things like the disappearance of the hotel room's door or the change of color or plate of their getaway car had happened.

Or that his arm began to disappear as if it was made of air before reappearing.

He knew why that now, he just needed confirmation.

"After you left, I've passed through here and there, Mr. Solace." He explained to Nico, sounding happy before seeing his arm flickered again. He hid it before Will could notice and kept driving. "But why did you appear just now?" He wondered to Will, curious. "It sounded like you were going to come back quickly." Will kept quiet and was a little unnerving to Nico. "You told me you would look into it and find a solution. That's why I thought you would come back quickly."

"I had a situation." Will excused himself.

"What kind of situation?" Nico wanted to know but he glanced at Will's face while driving. "Judging by your expression, you haven't found a solution, right? You said that out of encouragement, right? I was hopeful again." He spoke his mind, not in a negative way. "Is there something special with this man? Everyone is saying I am the culprit yet he's so convinced that I've been framed. Is he a spy perhaps? Or, does he know who the real murderer is? Perhaps his accomplice? The killer's son?" Will showed his surprised upon hearing Nico speak his theories but say nothing. Nico smirked at him and kept driving. "Why did you find me if you didn't have a solution?"

"Because I was worried." Will admitted to him. "After leaving you there, my mind was uneasy."

"Your husband didn't come back?" Nico asked casually but didn't let Will answer. "Did you take out your pent up lust for your husband on me? You kissed me then disappeared. Because I resemble your husband?" Finally, Will showed some emotion even if it was a little frustration.

"What do you mean lust? To speak like that..." He rolled his eyes at Nico, who smirked and changed the topic.

"You didn't eat dinner, right? Let's buy food. There's nothing at home." He suggested, still driving. "You don't have anywhere else to go. You don't have money, a place to go, or anyone you know. Hence you have to rely on me, even if I am a fugitive. Am I correct?" Nico missed the recognition in Will's eyes upon hearing those words before he hid it.

"You're right." He agreed.

"Although you don't have money, I need to take responsibility." Nico acknowledged at him. "You're my lifesaver."

_And soon, I'll have all my answers..._

* * *

_A/N at the end of the episode_


	33. Episode 11, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 11: Part 3**

* * *

To say that Will was a little confused about how things were developing would be the understatement of the century.

He was _super_ confused.

Nico di Angelo wasn't this trustworthy. Sure, he was now a fugitive and he kind of saved him and believed in him and came back to check on him but despite that, Nico had no reason to trust him.

So, why was he acting like this?

"You don't have clothes to wear either, right?" Nico mentioned his clothes, the same clothes that, according to him, had been wearing for at least a whole month. "If you don't, I should buy some for you."

"It's fine." Will stopped him while they walk around a small market of Valhalla. He really didn't care if he was wearing the same clothes, for him it hadn't passed that long time.

"No, I have to buy them for you. I want to." Nico insisted, which was slightly surprising. He walked to one of the market's tents that sell clothes and began looking through the rack, leaving Will no more option than to follow him. "Take your pick. Whatever you like from here." He said after a few minutes before blushing slightly. Another new thing. "This is a little bit embarrassing, but I can't buy expensive things. I do have a lot of money, my cash flow has been blocked at the moment." He explained to him, but Will keep staring at him. _Why is he like this...?_ "What about this one?" He grabbed a shirt that was on the rack. Will only nodded at him. "It's 5 bucks. The price is good too. I'm in a position where everything's burned down, so I'm saying we should be frugal. Just know that in my heart, I want to buy you a 3 thousand dollar suit."

_He's not helping things easier for me talking like that... He doesn't remember me so why is he making this harder on me...?_

"I can't show my face so go buy this." Nico took Will's silence as agreement of his choice before handing him some bills. Will had no other option but to do as told, watching Nico disappearing to the other side of the market. He followed a few minutes later but he seemed to be nowhere in sight.

_Where is he now...?_ He was about to have a small panic attack when someone grabbed his elbow and turned him. Seeing Nico standing there and showing him two ice creams was just as surprising.

"It's too hot. Let's each eat one and go." He explained his decision before extending his hand. "The change. I have to be thrifty." He excused himself but Will said nothing and handed the change over. "Let's go." That confused Will even more- his face said it all -, especially since he placed a hand on his back and pushed him to his desired direction until they found a small seat in the middle of the market- that the seat was in fact the elevated floor of some stores, more like a set of stairs, cared very little to Will.

"It's good." Nico announced once he ate his ice cream. He got happier by the minute and that kind of confused- or disturbed -Will. "How's that one?"

"Vanilla flavor." He said, eating it.

"Give me a bite." Without even waiting permission, Nico grabbed Will's wrist and brought the ice cream to his mouth, biting a piece of it under Will's shocked face. "It's eh. Mine's better. Try it." He determined, placing his own ice cream on Will's still shocked face. With no alternative, Will ate the ice cream. "Mine's better, right?" Will couldn't take it anymore.

"Why are you like this since earlier?"

"What?"

"You're a fugitive right now. You've been on the run for about a month. And, do you know who I am?" Nico didn't realize his silence was allowing Will to rant to him. "You don't even know my identity, but you say let's hang out, buy me clothes. You're not thinking about clearing your name, instead you're opening up ice cream. What are you thinking right now? Are you going to keep living like this? Doing nothing?"

"When a person keeps going through events with no logical connection whatsoever, they go insane." Nico replied, philosophically. "You can just think that I'm crazy. I don't have any thoughts right now. I did all that I could for one month. There's really not much I can do." He confessed. "There are only two choices left for me. Get arrested while keep running, or turn myself in. Then from there, comes the legal fight. Then I would rot in prison for my entire life." Will stared at Nico. He did seem calm but how long will it last? "I am following my predestined destiny. No matter how much I try, the conclusion is always the same. My life must be already determined as a sad ending." _Why is he saying that...?_ "Since we just shopped and ate ice cream, I did two things, right?" He numbered, changing radically the topic. "Let's go grocery shopping." He didn't wait for an answer, he grabbed Will's hand and dragged him to the closest supermarket.

Once inside the store, Will watched as Nico filled the cart he was pushing around with things. It was either too much food for two people or he was stocking up because it was too much. Especially, beer.

_How much is he planning on drinking...?_

"Should we buy some snacks?" Nico asked looking around the store after setting some things in the cart. For some reason, Will felt a mother following her hyperactive child that filled the cart with anything. Nico was acting like a small child. "Have you tried this before? Let's buy this." He didn't wait for an answer, placing the snack inside the cart. "My appetite increased since I now have someone to eat with, strangely." Nico somehow apologized to him, smiling. "Should we buy a watermelon as well?" Again, he didn't wait for answer. He simply took off.

Confussion seemed to make Will's face home permanently.

_This man is going to make me crazy in every possible way now..._

After collecting and paying for everything in the supermarket, Nico drove to the place he had been staying hidden. The drive was silent but it wasn't awkward for Will. Sure, he was still confused about Nico's attitude but at least the silence was comfortable.

"I'll make you spaghetti. Do you like creamy spaghetti?" Nico announced as soon as they reached the kitchen to place the groceries.

"You can't cook though." Will pointed out.

"Who told you that I can't cook?" _Damn it, I blew it..._ "You're right. I can't, but I studied

while looking on the Internet." Nico smirked at him. "There is not much to do here, and I wanted to cook for you when you appear someday."

"What?"

"Go wash up." Nico's ability to change the subject was slightly confusing Will even more. He remembered him more focused. "The bathroom is over there." Not having other alternative, Will grabbed the shirt he had bought and decided to change when he heard Nico mumble. "Did I just do four things? I just need to do two more to finish my homework."

Will stopped dead in his tracks. The 'homework' comment triggered a memory from him, when he had marked all the things they should do every day.

The sweet things to do together.

Go grocery shopping.

Eating ice cream.

Go shopping.

Cooking.

"What did you just say?" Will confronted him.

"What do you mean?" Nico spoke as he either didn't understand or was playing fool.

"Just now, you talked about some homework." Will pointed out.

"Oh, homework." Nico repeated, nodding his head.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Homework to do ten sweet things for you a day." That blunt confirmation surprised Will, who kept staring at Nico. "But your husband only did four things and disappeared. So I tried to do it for you in the place of your husband, since I'm indebted to you for saving my life. Didn't you say that your husband looked like me? Isn't that why you are following me around?" _Not the reason- wait, when did he learn about that..?_

"How do you know that? I never talked about a homework or anything like that." Will recognized, not even remembering a moment he might have slipped that information- granted, he did mention his 'husband' had only done four sweet things with him but he never mentioned his 'husband' considered them homework!

"I saw it."

"From where? Where did you see that?"

If Will thought the surprised were over, he would get the biggest one now.

* * *

Nico had hoped they could do this after dinner.

But he realized that mentioning that Will would triggered him.

Since now Will was demanding answers to things he wasn't supposed to know, Nico decided to show the source of his information. He walked to the living room and, from the coffee table, picked up something he was sure Will would recognized. He waiting until they were face to face before showing him.

"From here." Will's reaction was immediate, dropping the bag he was holding because of the shock. "You know this manhwa, right?" Nico kept talking, his voice neutral. "By looking at your expression, it seems like you know it very well. I saw it from here." He continued, answering his own question. "Your husband disappeared after doing only four sweet things." He even smirked at him while talking. "He's a bit dishonorable. How can he do that to a man after marrying him?" Nico saw Will trying to hide the panic he was feeling, letting Nico free to talk.

"Percy brought it for me when I asked him to investigate you. It seems that you left it in the hospital before all this madness." Nico explained why he had it in his possession. "Everyone thought it was strange that it had characters named like us." Nico stopped for a second to look at Will. "I thought that this is yours. Aren't I right?" Will's face was cracking slowly, showing his fear.

"You didn't appear, and there was nothing I could do here. So I just read this book. Again and again. I memorized all the dialogue now. At first, I wasn't interested. The story was very interesting. This Nico di Angelo seemed a bit pitiful and foolish, like me." Not even insulting himself a little he got a reaction out of Will.

"So I was just holding on, without turning myself in. To meet you. If I meet you, I was going to ask you what happens next. Before I find that out, I couldn't just go to prison." He explained his hiding before lifting the manhwa up one last time. "Did you read the next chapter as well? What happens to Nico di Angelo and Will Solace in the next chapter? So does Nico di Angelo forget Will Solace forever? Answer me." Nico demanded upon hearing Will's silence.

"Is your husband, who suddenly disappeared, me?"

* * *

_Hello, everyone..._

_As you probably realized, I had been absent from posting for a while and at first, it was pure procrastination- I hadn't or couldn't finish the full episode and it got accumulated. Sadly, that wasn't the case on the last two weekends, as personal problems stopped me from even using the computer during my free time._

_To compensate for the troubles, I'll try to finish this story by the end of the week- I did say 'try'! -as we're only five episodes away. From here on, this only gets more action and tears than anything, so be ready for everything!_

_I'll be low until the New Year, only to post a collab I did with a friend as Christmas present for you all. Besides that, I'll be on hiatus until New Year comes. I need that time to reorganize my ideas and put them on paper/screen._

_Thank you all for understanding. Have a lovely week._  
_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


	34. Episode 12, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 12: Part 1**

* * *

_Previously..._

"Is your husband, who suddenly disappeared, me?"

As soon as those words came out of Nico's mouth he noticed something was wrong.

Besides the shocked Will in front of him.

The fire that was powered on under the cooking pot had stopped moving. Just like the water that was falling from the tap was frozen in movement. A glance to see if Will was still moving he realized he wasn't looking at him anymore.

He was looking _behind_ him.

Turning around, Nico saw what could only be described as a big window, in the middle of the living room. It seemed to be made out of crystal but the particles looked like they were moving as if they were made of water.

Seeing that as partial proof of his early words, Nico turned back to Will, serious.

"Is it hard to answer?" Will didn't answer, he kept switching from the 'window' to Nico with a worried face. Determined, Nico grabbed Will's hand in his. "Then let's go out together and confirm." Nico ignored Will's face- a face saying that he wouldn't like what was ahead. Nico pulled him gently with him to the other side of the 'window'...

And they crossed over.

They reappeared on the same spot that Will had disappeared last time though Nico didn't know that part yet. Both looked back at the tablet that was lighted up on the tablet, watching it go dark. Seeing his theories confirmed, Nico looked around the room, curiously.

"This is your father's workshop, right?" He tried to break the ice but his eyes rested on one particular object in the room: Will's necklace. The one it had his wedding ring. Out of instinct, Nico reached out and grabbed in between his fingers.

"I- I didn't know I had brought a manhwa to your world." Will finally spoke, looking anywhere but him. "I wasn't planning on telling you." He confessed, looking at him. "I was never going to tell you, I was just- I just wanted you to have a happy ending..."

Nico could only smirk at him. Going to these lengths for him to have a happy ending? He was special indeed. He caught the glimpse of a picture and decided to see it better, walking to the wall to be sure. And sure he was, the similarities between them were identical he hoped he wasn't the same.

"Where is your Father?" He asked casually but if Will had been seeing his face, he would have assumed something else was going on. Without waiting for an answer, Nico walked out of the room, followed by Will.

"Why?"

"I wanted to meet him." Nico explained and was answered with a fearful face. Nico understood immediately why. "Don't worry, I won't shoot him. I'd be a fool to repeat the same mistake. Where is he?" He repeated, trying to show his good intentions.

"My Dad didn't draw it." Will said immediately. "It wasn't my father who framed you. Don't misunderstand." He added before looking at the other room's door. That only added to Nico's curiosity, especially when Will pulled out a key to unlock the door.

"Why did you lock the door?"

"You'll know once you see him." It was all Will explained to him before letting him walk in after him. Inside, Nico was greeted with the vision of a man lying on his side, immobile... without a face.

"Apollo Solace?" He called him before glancing at Will to check. "This is your father?"

"Yes." Will's voice was tired and unsure.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know either." Will admitted. "It hasn't even been a couple of hours, though an entire month has passed over there." While theories were running on Nico's head, Will showed exactly how he felt. "I'm a bit dizzy- I'm-" He didn't manage to say more before passing out on his spot.

Luckily, Nico got a hold on him before he even bent the knees. He decided to take Will out of the room- two people unable to move in the same room was problematic, especially when one of them was faceless -, carrying Will on his arms, surprising the individuals that had walked in the house seconds ago.

One of them was a blonde man who looked about his age, dressed with dress pants and a shirt, along with a tie. Probably, an academic or something. The other one, hidden behind the man was a young woman with vibrant red hair and an artistic overall- artistic in the sense that it was splashed with paint.

"Who are- who is he-?" The man asked and the woman only managed to stutter a few syllables.

"Ni- Ni-"

"Ni what?" It was obvious that the man found her annoying at the moment, so Nico decided to focus on the most recent problem.

"Can you help me? He suddenly fainted." It seemed like it was then when they realized Will was faint on his arms.

"Will!" The man immediately walked closer to the pair, dragging the woman who didn't want to let him go. There was a small stare down between both men but Nico had other things in mind that a contest of why he was there.

The man, that had introduced as Lee, apparently was a colleague of Will that had been dragged into checking on him by the woman. Nico decided that he was the best person to get him to the hospital, so he carried Will to his car to be taken there. With all the movements to get him in the car, Will had slightly woke up.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?" Nico questioned him once he was sitting safely on the seat.

"No, I'm just exhausted." _He does look exhausted, even his voice, but why...?_

"Exhausted?"

"One month flew so fast... It happened last time too." Will explained, a little sleepy.

"Then, once you rest, will you be fine?"

"I will."

"That's a relief." Nico couldn't hide his relief that it was only that. Seeing Lee on the phone, he had to check one thing with him. "Are you going to Fieldston Hospital?"

"Of course." Lee replied before going back to his conversation. Satisfied, Nico made sure Will had his seatbelt on, not wanting another accident. However, Will had other ideas, suddenly grabbing his wrist.

"Where are you going? Don't go." He begged him but Nico could see he was exhausted.

"I have some things to finish up. I'll be there soon." He promised him.

"Do you remember?" Will blurted out. "Do you remember me? Do you remember now?" He insisted. Nico decided to be brutally honest with him.

"No. I'm just assuming manhwa-me's feelings." He explained seeing the disappointment in Will's face. "Since you haven't changed, so I will know soon." He reassured him, smirking. "That fatal charm of yours." Will was so exhausted that he couldn't show any other expression except tiredness. "I'll go later, so please take care of him." He spoke to Lee, closing the door of the car. He watched them go before walking inside the house where he found a pacing and nervous redheaded. "I can come in, right?"

"Y-Yes." The poor woman stuttered a bit, allowing him to get in- not like she was standing by the door blocking his path.

"What's your name?" He asked politely.

"I am Kayla Knowles!" She shouted a bit, maybe it made her feel braver, who knows. "Excuse me. We saw each other before." She acknowledged him, making him frown.

"We did?" _I don't remember her and she wasn't in the manhwa..._

"At the front yard." She pointed. Nico only knew of one instance that happened in the yard.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't think it can be solved with an apology." She added, a bit sassily but Nico didn't feel the harm.

"I'm sorry. I don't know because it isn't a scene in the book." He apologized honestly.

"I see." Kayla mumbled.

"By any chance, is there a screwdriver?" Nico asked her, walking back to the main room.

"Flat-head or Phillips screwdriver? Both flat-head and Phillips?" She called after him but Nico was not listening. He was staring at the tablet from where he had arrived, connecting the dots between the manhwa story and what he knew. "Here they are. Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers. I didn't know what you need, so I brought it all." Kayla left a big toolbox on the table. "But, what are you going to do?" She asked, watching Nico turning the tablet down.

"It is dangerous. The same thing can't happen again." He stated, taking the electric screwdriver. "If I disassemble it completely, he won't be able to come out."

"Ah... But if you disassemble it, you won't be able to put them back. How will you use it when you need to?" Nico only limited himself to smirk which seemed to trigger Kayla's memory. "That's right! You majored in Computer Engineering." She remembered, chuckling. While she was celebrating her memory, Nico had a big question.

"How did Mr. Solace end up like that?"

"I went out to buy some late-night snacks. When I came back, Master's face had disappeared like that." Kayla retold the story, serious, while Nico worked. "He drew what the real culprit told him to. He drew a gun and a voice memo." _So, the culprit did frame me..._ "It wasn't just chaotic over there. It was a total mess here, too! Will Big Bro just disappeared in an instant and Master's face also just disappeared in an instant. I was so scared that I was trembling. You suddenly appeared. Ta-da!" She summarized the whole tale, a little dramatically. Nico listened to her while working but his head was all over the place.

"Can you bring me some water, please?" He asked her, more in an effort of letting him be alone. Kayla immediately went to do as requested.

It took Nico a few minutes to disarmed and isolate the tablet's full mechanism. Now, he had to think of what to do next.

* * *

At the same time, the 'window' between the real world and the manhwa world disappeared.

* * *

"Here is your water." Kayla broke Nico's concentration but gave him a useful source.

"Thanks. Where can I read the book after Book 34?"

"Book 34?" Kayla repeated, confused.

"I would like to see the one after that to find out what had happened." Nico explained. Kayla simply raised a finger and left the room, only to come back with only a sketch pad.

"Here you go." Kayla handed Nico a small flash drive that triggered Nico's memory.

"This is a letter I wrote?" He checked.

"Yes, to Master." Kayla confirmed. "That is why Master and I were rewriting the story to catch the real culprit. And Master became that way."

"How did you guys make the story?"

"This is the storyboard that has the ending." Kayla gave him the sketch pad. Nico saw the first two scenes depicted as it had happened. After the fourth, everything went different.

It seemed like a long night of work.


	35. Episode 12, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 12: Part 2**

Nico spent the entire night up.

He had read all the previous manhwa's books- although he should know them, he lived them -, the letter that his previous self had written, he even read all the files and articles that were kept as a reference for his adventures. He didn't seem to completely understand the whole thing, so he came to one conclusion.

That there was only one person who would make sense to all this mess.

He left the room and went to the other room, where Apollo Solace was. Nico knew that Apollo wouldn't be able to answer him but watching him made him think of the words he had so spitefully screamed at his previous self.

"How are you a God?" He wondered to him. "Why did I think you were a God? Why was I so angry that I even shot you?" Part of him was glad he didn't remember, probably he couldn't have lived with himself- just like his old self did. "You are also nothing." He determined, earning a new revelation.

A revelation he hoped gave him the advantage.

He returned to the room and assembled the tablet once again before plugged it in. Then, he pulled out a gun that he had brought from his world- Will didn't even know he still had the gun that had appeared in his hands after the death of his Uncle -and turned the device on, pointing it at with the gun, ready for anything.

The tablet lighted up, followed by a voice.

_"Who are you?"_

"Guess." Nico replied, serious. He had an idea who he was talking to. "Guess who I am." No reply so far. "How does it feel to be in a world with nobody? Shooting and killing people is your joy, but there is nobody there to kill now." Nico taunted him a little bit. "You probably didn't even shoot. How are you enduring it? You can't even follow me out here like before because I got rid of the exit." Nico smirked. "Isn't it better to die?"

That managed a reaction.

_"Are you telling me to die?"_ The voice replied with confusion instead of trying to intimidate him.

"What is the point of living there alone? Time be stopped forever." Nico pointed out but didn't expect to receive laughter in return.

_"Why should I die? If I wait a little longer, you will cease to exist first." What...? "You've lost all qualifications of being the main character. A murderer on the run. You will cease to exist soon. When the main character ceases to exist, the world will resume. I just have to wait for you to disappear. So, why should I die?"_

Nico glanced at his arm. Its presence was flickering.

He was disappearing.

Now, he had to figure out how not to.

* * *

Will woke up the next day in his room.

He immediately saw the IV connected to his arm and pulled out before getting out of his room.

"Mom?" He called around but there was no response. It seemed like he was alone in the apartment. "Could that all have been a dream...?" He asked himself, recalling that he had been in the manhwa and Nico had figured out that his world was not real. Again. But he was home so... "That was all a dream?" He had no time to freak out nor to think what to do as his phone was ringing out. He didn't even check the number. "Hello?"

_"Are you awake?"_ Will went speechless when hearing Nico's voice. _"How are you feeling? Hello? Can you hear me?"_ Nico repeated which prompted Will to action.

"I hear you."

_"How are you feeling? Are you okay?"_

"I think I'm okay. But from where-"

_"I'm near your father's workplace." So, that means..._

"Are you here right now? Are you really calling me from this world?" _Man, get a grip on yourself!_

_"Of course. How can you call this world from the manhwa world?"_ Nico reasoned with him. _"I just registered a phone number under Kayla's name. Save this number because it is mine. Are you going to just keep sleeping? If your condition is good, let's go on a date." That came out of nowhere..._

"Date?" Will checked, not sure he heard right.

_"While you were laying in bed, I have adjusted to this place and figured out the situation._

_I did everything I needed."_ Nico explained before adding. _"Besides my marriage."_

"Pardon?" It was more than obvious that Will was confused and surprised. His voice said it all.

_"It says I'm definitely your husband. I'm certain about that but I've only seen it through the manhwa."_ Nico's casual acceptance of it filled Will with relief. _"It doesn't feel real to me. That's why I was waiting for you to wake up. Let's go on a date. You know me so well but I don't know much. So you should give me a chance to catch up. Do you not want to?"_ He added when Will kept silent.

"I have to go see my dad since I just woke up." _Pathetic, Will..._

_"Let's talk about your father when we meet. I have something to tell you, too. You are going to go on a date with me, right? Then, get ready. I'll call you when I am nearby."_ Nico assumed correctly the unspoken answer before hanging up.

Will stared at the phone before storing the number under Nico's name. A small moment of panic arrived and decided to call to check.

_"Hello?"_

"I was calling to make sure it is the right number." He excused himself.

_"It is."_ He could hear him chuckling on the other side.

"Where did you get the money to buy a phone?"

_"I took money from Kayla. Could you pay her back for me? I borrowed quite a lot of money."_ He asked him.

"Did you leave any money in my care?" Will teased him. Nico didn't leave him waiting.

_"Are you telling me to find another pocket when we are married? You're so tight. Even though I was poor, I bought clothes, ice cream, and all sorts of stuff for you."_ He guilt-tripped him.

"Did I say anything? I was just asking." He saved face before hanging up.

Though, he did call seconds later again.

_"What?"_ Will noticed that he wanted to sound desperate but he was laughing too.

"When did you say you will be here?"

_"Would an hour be enough time?"_

"Your brain must be mush for dating girls before." He annoyed him on purpose, smirking. "I'm faster. 30 minutes." This time, Nico was indeed laughing.

_"Okay."_

_Time to get ready!_

* * *

It was right after Will's shower that the doorbell rang.

"Mom?" He called out before opening the door.

"Mr. Solace." Will froze upon seeing Nico smirking at him. _30 minutes passed already?_ "I can come inside, right?" _What's with this habit of him walking without waiting for an answer?_

"How did you- You said you would call when you were nearby." Will reminded him, almost accusatory. And within his rights, he was standing there without a shirt!

"I was curious about how you lived." Nico said, looking around the apartment.

"What?" Will didn't buy that excuse but that was the only word coming out of his mouth.

"I came after Kayla told me that your mother went to work. I'm going to come in."

"Please, come in. I'm glad I allowed you entrance..." Will's voice dripped sarcasm, sarcasm that Nico ignored completely while he looked around, giving Will the perfect excuse to check him over.

"There was no information in the book and I have the right to know about you too." He justified his presence there. That's not what Will was against at the moment. "So you live here."

"Yes. I live in a place like this. It isn't comparable to a penthouse."

"It is nice and cozy. It's similar to my old house." Nico surprisingly defended the apartment.

"You suddenly- I know I said I'm not a woman but I'm not even ready yet." Will pointed at his state of semi-dressed.

"Come out when you're ready. I'll be waiting." Nico let him go finish.

"There are drinks in the fridge. Get it if you need it." Will offered him before walking to the bathroom to finish change.

"Yes- Oh, wait." Nico stopped him, Will looking confused. "Since you are missing the shirt, can you take your jeans off?" Will blinked in surprise. _Sure, I misheard him..._

"What did you say?"

"Well, you find it unfair that only I don't remember and I find it frustrating, too." He began, trying to explain. "So, shouldn't we hurry up and at least do everything we did in this book? I'll need to see you nude and I think we need to kiss each other about five times today. This is too big of a gap in our relationship. I am curious." _Cheeky bastard..._ "I want to know the feeling that the Nico di Angelo in this book felt."

"You are kidding right now, right?" Will gave him an opportunity to take back his words. Nico should have realized that this was the moment to back out or he would be chewed out for the rest of the night. He could still chew him out the rest of the night.

"I'm serious right now." _It looks like he didn't get the memo..._

"Yeah, right!" Will scoffed at him before closing the door of the bathroom.

"Take your time getting ready. I'll be waiting." Nico spoke after the door was closed. It didn't take long to Will to finish, only his shirt and shoes but it seemed like he had taken too long because Nico was not in the living room where he had left him. He soon found him in his room.

"What are you doing?" He wondered at him. Nico simply stood there and smiled softly at him.

"Thank you." Nico thanked him, evidently losing Will for a minute. "For not forgetting and missing me." It was then that Will noticed he had been looking at the cut out scenes from the manhwa that he had stuck to the window.

"I didn't have any pictures..." He excused himself, shrugging a bit. "I know it's somehow girly but let's take some pictures, I regretted not doing that."

"Alright." Nico agreed, looking over him. "You look ready. Are you?" To be honest, Will expected to hear something about his messy room, worrying about someone does mess with your head. Relieved, Will smiled at him.

"Yes."

* * *

Once in the car, Will thought the roles were inverted as Nico asked the crucial question _he_ should be asking.

"Where are we going?"

"What do you want to eat?" Will asked back. Nico smirked, looking at the road, driving Will's car. Evidently, he wanted to be in charge of this date despite a small flaw.

"Are you going to buy?" He joked but had he been looking at Will's face, he would have seen it wasn't a joke.

"You don't know any places here. And you don't have money or people you know either. Of course, I have to buy for you." Will finished the discussion, smirking back.

"My opinion after reading the whole book, those Nico and Will got married too soon." Nico stated, still driving. "But of course, there was a good reason to." He excused it. "So that's why I'm telling you, let's do a little dating. Like other couples." He proposed, relaxed about it. _Of course he's relaxed... he's overconfident..._ "It _is_ a little funny that we're doing marriage first, then dating but I want to do the sweet things you like one by one, naturally on a date instead of doing it like homework." He explained before looking at him. "What do you think?"

"I like it." Will agreed, smiling.

"Where should we go? Suggest someplace." Nico repeated.

Will began giving him directions towards a restaurant he wanted to try. To his surprise, the parking lot was empty. If this had been a scene of the manhwa, Will would be suspicious that Nico had rented the whole place for them.

Not in this world.

"We might have come too late. It looks like we're the only people here." Will pointed out after Nico parked, pulling out his seatbelt and looking at the place.

However, his surprises weren't over.

"Oh, but when do I get to do 5 kisses?"

"Excuse me?" _Did I hear him right...?_

"How about one here? No one's around." Nico suggested, showing around with a smirk.

"Seriously, stop it." Will gasped before looking away to show he didn't find it funny.

"But I'm serious right now." Nico rested an arm on Will's seat, making him look at him. He was serious, no trace of jokes. "The nude from before was a joke but I'm serious right now." Will kept staring at him. "You don't feel like it? Is it awkward?" Getting no reply, Nico answered his own question, smiling in understanding. "Then let's do it later, slowly..."

"I mean-" Will rushed to answer when seeing him ready to leave the car. "There's nothing to be awkward about, why would I be awkward?" He rambled a little.

"Then can I do it?"

"You can- You can do-"

Will didn't manage to finish to form his permission when Nico's hand went behind his head and pulled his face closer to his, not forceful but not gently either. Nico quickly closed the gap between them and kisses him.

Will immediately kissed him back and, unlike other times, he wasn't thinking about surprising him or causing a reaction out of him. This time, it was all about enjoying the moment, something that Nico seemed to have taken to heart.

The kiss wasn't deep or weird or awkward like he feared. It was short, yes, but was as sweet as a 'first kiss' should be.

Soon, Nico was pulling back, smirking, looking at him.

"So it feels like this... it was this." He said though it looked like he was talking to himself more. He smiled and nodded. "I got it."

"What did you get?" Will's curiosity got the best of him. "What does it feel like?" Nico looked at him and gave him what Will considered the most mysterious smile in his arsenal.

"No comment."


	36. Episode 12, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 12: Part 3**

After finally getting out of the car and ordering some meals in the restaurant, Nico began to worry about other things.

The first thing he had to do was to keep hiding his disappearing arm from Will, he will approach that topic after lunch.

The second, they had to resolve- or better yet, Will had to help him put his plan in action -the killer's situation.

"It's tasty! Worthy of a recommendation." Nico broke the ice during the silent meal, but it seemed like Will's attention was somewhere else. He hadn't even begun eating. "Are you mad about something? Why won't you say anything?" He asked him, curious.

"That hand..." _Crap... He saw it..._ "What do we do?" Nico wanted to argue about it but Will didn't let him. "You've been hiding it since a while ago because you think I'll see."

"I was going to tell you after we finished eating." He confessed, upset he had discovered it.

"I can't... bring myself to eat." Will stopped pretending he was going to eat his food but wouldn't look at Nico. Defeated- and glad that there was no one else in the restaurant but them -, Nico raised his arm and showed to him how it was flickering between presence and absence. Will simply saw it and sighed.

"It's been a month. Ever since my Uncle passed away." Nico explained to him.

"What do we do?" Will repeated.

"We'll have to figure it out."

"How can we figure it out?" Nico felt happiness when Will included himself in the plan but was still unsure if he wanted him to help him.

"While you were asleep, I spoke with your father about many things." That statement only confused Will.

"You spoke with my father?" He checked with him, earning a nod from Nico.

"I didn't know who Apollo Solace was, so I met both sides. _That's_ how I realized why our plan failed." Now that he had Will's full attention, Nico elaborated.

"What is that...?" Will wondered.

"There was something your father had not yet told me about." Nico stated, talking about his 'previous' meeting with Apollo. "The fact that he had already met the true killer that day. And that they had made a promise between themselves. That's why turning everything into a dream had no effect." He reasoned out. "That bastard was still in his state of realization while all of my memories were gone. I made a mistake. I chose the wrong point in time when he made it all a dream. That's why everything's been tangled like this."

"Then...?" Will wanted to know more.

"So I thought about it. Let's make a promise." Nico saw Will wary about it but asked about it.

"What is it?"

"When we go back to the workroom, draw me a picture." What Nico never expected was Will's reaction about it.

"What are you talking about, again? What- You're telling me to make all this a dream _again_?" Nico watched as Will let out a rant. He could see he was angry as his words- no, Nico was sure Will was angry _because_ of his words. _I should have worded it differently..._ "You want me to draw all of this as a dream again?! Then you disappear from here again? You can live perfectly fine with forgetting everything about me. But I- I have to be by myself while remembering this _twice_?! You were going to do this in the end, why did you tell me you wanted to go on a date? Why did you kiss me back then?" _Time to end this track..._

"I didn't say anything about a dream."

"That's what you're _trying_ to say right now!" Will insisted, trying not to raise his voice but Nico could see it was hard. _He had kept all these feelings to himself, who would believe him if he explained them...?_ "To ask me to turn everything back, to before the killer realized anything! To tell me that _that's_... the only way everyone can be safe again!"

"That's what the Nico di Angelo from the manhwa suggested. I don't intend to do any of that." Nico argued with him. He wasn't angry at Will, he was just trying to understand his point of view- wrong one, but Will had a record to prove it. "Back then, I was desperate so there was nothing I could do. But right now, I have time to think and that's not right. I don't have any desire to live the same life once more. And I don't want to leave you with memories to suffer through."

"Then what is it? What do you want me to draw for you again?" Will asked him, sounding a little more confident about it.

"Draw this for me." Nico pulled out some photos of his pocket and handed them to Will. Will took them and glanced at them.

"What is this?"

"I think your father can only come back if the killer is killed." Nico began explaining his theory. "And I don't have the qualifications of the main character, so I don't know when I'll cease to exist. There still is only one way. The story that your father and I planned from the beginning." Will looked from the pictures to Nico, and he could see how Will was thinking about the last time that happened. "After catching the true killer, leading Zeus Olympia to kill the killer. That is the most certain way. So we must go according to the plan. That way, your father and I would be able to live. However, I want to change the ending that your father made." He surprised Will, smirking. "The last scene should be Nico and Will should get married and live happily. That is the most logical happy ending of W. Whether the readers curse at us or not! Isn't it?"

"Yes. It is." Will replied, a small smile appearing.

"After coming here, I realized that your father is not the god." Nico continued, turning a bit serious again. "He was just simply deluded to believe he was god and that's why he suffered that fate. Your father couldn't have possibly created everything in that world. How could a writer predetermine all those billions of people?"

"That- that actually doesn't make sense." Will confirmed after a minute of thought. Nico nodded at him.

"What he was able to decide on were only a few characters that he made. That's why I've concluded like this. The manhwa is just a medium to connect the two worlds. This world and that world are independent of each other. Two separate worlds. The only things that are common among the two worlds are what show up in the manhwa. A number of fictional characters, including me, and a few specific locations that are drawn."

"Dad's tablet is the bridge, isn't it?" Will checked and Nico nodded again.

"The two worlds first meet through your father's tablet." Nico confirmed with him. "I was able to get out through the tablet, but starting the second time, there were variables; manhwa characters' self-realization. As fictional characters started self-realization, people from the real world could be summoned, or be taken out when an episode ends. Variables kept getting created and we have suffered the consequences because of those variables. It's enough to suffer this much. Now we should make use of the confirmed variables."

"How are you planning to use the variables on your favor?" Will frowned slightly, thinking. Nico pointed at the pictures Will was still holding.

"When you get out of here, you will go to the workshop and draw this. I have reassembled the tablet."

"No." Will shook his head. "You know what happens. If I turn that on, then the killer..."

"That's why we should catch the killer first so he couldn't be free." Nico stopped his rant gently. "So he can't touch the tablet. I will do that."

"You're planning on going 'main character' again, aren't you?" _Nice to know I can't hide you anything..._

"Leave that to me." He reassured him. "First, a car for me to ride."

"What is this...?" Will had paid attention to the second picture and was frowning again.

"The second thing you'll have to draw for me is a corpse. Then-"

"What about Reyna?" Will interrupted him, serious. "If we're a happy ending then she'll disappear again."

"I'm going to make her a variable."

"A variable?"

"I can't accept that there's only one reason for existence, starting from birth." Nico spoke, almost frowning. "When a variable appears in life, then it's natural that the direction is changed. Like how I met you." Will smiled sadly at him. "If they're shackled simply for being a character, then all you have to do is let them be free. Getting rid of Reyna's character set-up."

"Guess we better get to work."

* * *

After their date, Nico drove Will back to his father's house.

"Wait for my text. I'll tell you when to turn the tablet on." He reminded him once he got off the car. Immediately, Will leaned and looked at him through the passenger seat's window.

"How will you come back?" Will asked him, unsure. "If you go now, it's the end. You won't be able to come back here."

"I think I can come back." _I'm pretty confident that my plan will succeed..._

"It was only possible when you realized something." Will reminded him of the previous times. "That means you have to come back after losing your memories again... Then the dream-"

"I told you I don't want any more dreams." Nico interrupted Will, smirking softly.

"Then, what are you going to do?"

"I think I can do it. Wait here."

"I said that last time! I told you to wait until the surgery was finished and you disappeared." Will scolded him and Nico knew he was right.

"That was Nico di Angelo from the manhwa." He defended himself, ready to leave but reminding something, he turned to him again. "Oh! And there's one more thing you need to draw for me." Will waited for him to continue. "It's too expensive here, I can't possibly buy it in my current state." Will's raised eyebrow forced Nico to elaborate. "Please draw me the ring I lost."

That drew a smile in both of them before Nico drove away.

It was now when the plan started.

* * *

While driving towards his new destination, Nico recalled a conversation he had with Kayla the night before.

_~FLASHBACK~_

_"Where is the place that the killer lives?" He had asked the girl, who looked unsure to him. "There must be a location. Don't you have any pictures from the research materials?"_

_"I do have the research material pictures. It's an apartment after all." Kayla had kind of argued as if her ethics as an artist were questioned. She began searching through some papers while Nico kept talking._

_"Where is that? The address of the killer didn't come out in the manhwa, right?"_

_"Well, no. Since it blew up even before we were able to draw it." Kayla had explained, searching through some pictures. _

_"That's why the police were not able to find the location." Nico mumbled to himself, understanding now._

_"Aha!" Kayla pronounced, happy, before showing a group of pictures to Nico. "The picture of the apartment... seems like this is it." Nico saw a common, ordinary and humble building unit that would be, somehow, perfect for this killer to hide. Behind the picture, it had the address of it: _1369 Blondell Ave, The Bronx, NY, Unit 815.

_"We decided on Unit 815. There's really no reason behind it." Kayla had explained, shrugging her shoulder. It had been really random._

_~FLASHBACK~_

And now, after a long drive and some minutes of walking, Nico was standing in front of said door, checking that he was alone in the hallways. Bothering the people that was inside was insane, they were not part of this.

He texted Will his instructions, believing that the time requested was more than enough. Pulling out the gun that Will _still_ didn't know he had brought with himself when he crossed worlds, he concentrated.

_I am currently out in the real world._ Nico thought to himself. _At the same time, I am a fictional character. Through the fictional character's will, if he can summon the person from the real world. The first hypothesis is that I... can summon myself into the manhwa world._

_Starting now, I summon myself._

"Right here, into the manhwa."

The change was immediate, so fast, that Nico could have not realized about it if the time in the sky hadn't changed. It seemed like the world had stopped the night he and Will 'crossed over' and it was still that night. The sunny sky light of the real world that strained through the windows of the apartment block disappeared and now, the darkness surrounded him.

Nico didn't waste time. He turned around and kicked the door open. The surprise of its inhabitants was big which gave Nico a fair advantage. Both Orcus and Nico had a little stare-down before Nico smirked at him.

The real fight began now.

Orcus' first move was head towards his gun but Nico anticipated that move, kicking the gun and the couch where it was far away from Orcus. Immediately, Orcus received a kick on his stomach, pushing him even further. Nico pointed the gun at him but Orcus simply threw a bottle at him- that landed on the wall behind him.

A kick from Orcus after this distraction caused Nico to lose his gun and soon, both hero and antagonist were engaged in hand-to-hand combat, both focus on attacking than defending. Kicks and punches flew around the place, some landing on target, some others don't. Nico was hit several times but that hadn't stopped him. Even when it seemed that Orcus had him at his mercy, Nico escaped and fought back at him.

Soon, a strong push made Orcus stumble and collide with a wall strong enough to make him stumble and fall to the floor. Nico didn't waste the given opportunity and kicked him on the face, making him lose a little bit of consciousness. However, Nico was not even finished, as he picked him up by the collar of his clothes and kicked him again, making him collapse on the couch that was on the other side of the room.

This time, Orcus lost consciousness and the fight was over.

Nico searched around the tiny and disgusting apartment for some rope- and he found it, though he didn't want to know what could have Orcus planned with it -that he used to tie up his nemesis. It only took a few minutes and, once satisfied, made an important call.

_"Yes, this is 911."_

"I want to report a murder suspect." Nico announced to the surprised- or maybe not so much -officer replying the call.

_"Please go ahead and speak. Which murder case are you talking about?"_

"I caught the murder of the Channel W's mass shooting. Hurry and arrest him." By the time Nico had managed to talk to someone, Orcus was awake and trying to release from his 'prison'.

_"Yes. W-Wait a minute."_ If the situation wasn't as serious as it was, Nico would be smirking at the stammering of the officer.

"The address is 1369 Blondell Ave, The Bronx, NY. Unit 815. His name is Orcus."

_"We will dispatch right now to verify it. But then, can the one who reported reveal his identity?"_

"Just a citizen." Nico replied, enigmatically, before hanging up and kneeling at Orcus, who was glaring. "Who would die first between the two of us? I think it would be you." He teased Orcus, smirking at him. "Since I caught the murderer, it will probably delay my disappearing. Because I did one thing the main character should do."

"Bastard." Orcus chuckled at him though it was obvious it was not amusing for him.

"Rot in prison. I will think about how you should die." Nico spoke his goodbyes, more as if saying 'goodbye' to his previous life.

* * *

Right after walking into his father's house and check on him, Will began pacing around in his room until Nico contacted him. Soon, he was getting a text from him.

_'10 minutes afterward would be enough. At that time, turn the power on.'_

Now given his indications, Will was resigned wait a little longer. Sure, ten minutes were nothing but long when you knew every single one of them counted differently in another world.

As soon as the ten minutes had passed, Will took a deep breath and pressed the power on button of the tablet.

The tablet flickered on and, out of previous experiences, Will took a step back.

One second.

Two seconds.

Relieved that nothing will happen this time, Will took a seat and began drawing the things Nico requested him.

* * *

As soon as he was out of Orcus' apartment complex, Nico saw it.

His new dark getaway car.

Smirking at Will's drawing ability, he got in and drove away from the scene just seconds earlier than police patrol cars arrived and headed exactly to where he had fought Orcus. However, he wouldn't be there to see the face of the officers once they discovered the killer all tied up, or the evidence against him, or the reaction of Zeus Olympia when he found out that Orcus was apprehended.

Nor he needed to imagine what would his friends do when this news became public.

Nico drove to back to Valhalla and wasn't surprised to see that everything was in the exact moment where Will and he left it. The first thing he did was to check the news. He didn't realize that Percy had been calling him.

_"Just now, around 10:30, a suspect estimated to be responsible for the shooting and killing 10 people in the building of WBN has been caught in his residency. The identity of this suspect has not yet been confirmed and it has been notified that he was arrested through a courageous citizen's report. This anonymous reporter entered the suspect's house and after a fight with the suspect, he personally..."_

Turning off the TV, Nico made sure that everything was as normal as possible before a putrid smell filled his nose.

_Gods, Will is very talented..._ Nico thought, covering his nose while eying the body. Will had drawn it in a corner of the house and it was identical to him, gunshot in his abdomen and all. Still covering his nose, Nico placed an envelope over the corpse and decided that nothing else was needed here, so he returned to his car to make one last phone call.

_"CEO di Angelo, where are you?"_ Nico sighed at Percy's worried tone.

"Where else?" Nico replied, so far not lying.

_"Did you see the news?"_ Percy continued. "That guy was caught, and Reyna thinks he was caught by you."

"That's right. I caught him."

_"What? You really did? How?"_

"Cousin, listen up." Nico focused Percy, serious. "Go to the house I was at, saying that you lost all contact for about half a month. And my corpse will be there.

"What?! What are you talking about... _corpse_?" Evidently, Percy thought he had heard wrong.

"Report it to the police and make sure it's opened to the public. The DNA will match mine." Nico insisted before giving an ultimatum to him. "Cousin. I'm dead. Dying from a bullet, unfairly framed." Nico heard Percy's sigh and decided to calm him. "But I'm still alive so you don't have to worry. I thought I'd at least have to tell you."

"Hey, punk..." Percy showed who was the adult here but Nico found it endearing somehow.

"Oh, but it's best for Reyna to know that I'm dead. For her life." He added, serious. "I'll call you later."

Five minutes later, Nico was gone from Valhalla.

* * *

_"The police have confirmed, that on the 23rd, the body discovered in a house in Valhalla, New York is that of Mr. Nico di Angelo's, and he had died an unnatural death. Mr. di Angelo was on the run since the 22nd of last month, after being charged with the murder of WBN's Chief, Poseidon Jackson. Within 33 days of his run, he has been discovered as a corpse made through an unnatural death. Due to being hit with a bullet from the police on the run, Mr. di Angelo-"_

* * *

After roaming the streets for several hours, Nico returned to Orcus' apartment complex. He parked the car Will drew for him before getting his last request.

His wedding ring.

He observed it for a few seconds, smirking. As if the feeling of having the ring had come back to him. Then, he got out of the car and walked back to Orcus' apartment. One could see the police tape and Nico had no intention to cross it.

His thought was that he should return from the same place he left. After all, his only transport was in the same place but in the real world. Doing the same as the first time, Nico concentrated as soon as he was standing next to the door.

_The second hypothesis._ Nico thought to himself. _I've been summoned from the real world to this place. And so, when the mission of the episode is complete..._

"I'm going back."

To Nico's immense pleasure, he could see the letters '**To Be Continued**' forming with the corner of his eyes. Meaning that his theories were correct and that now, he was back to being the main character of the story.

* * *

Will was waiting anxiously for the call.

So, when the phone rang, he didn't even check who was calling.

"Hello?"

_"I came back."_

"Where are you?"

_"On my way to you."_ Relief filled Will's body and chuckled. _He couldn't be cheesier..._

"Leave the mushy phrases for the girls." Will tried to save face but both found it amusing.

_"Get ready. I want to finish our date. I'll fill up all five kisses today."_

"What?" Will raised an eyebrow in question though Nico couldn't see him.

_"I can't stand losing. It's not like I can lose to your old husband."_

"That's a weird sense of competition. Are you competing with someone right now?" He teased him, trying to sound serious. Nico only chuckled.

_"You'll know soon, that I'm_ much _better."_

"Why don't you come and we'll find out...?"


	37. Episode 13, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 13: Part 1**

Zeus Olympia was drinking.

Not that it was early in the morning, he just was drinking before dinner. He was about to meet with someone important from their party and said person was late. He couldn't help but keep filling his glass with his favorite drink, a whiskey called '_Ambrosia_'. While he was pouring himself another drink, his assistant, Ganimades, opened the door.

"The assemblyman will arrive in 20 minutes due to traffic." He informed Zeus but Zeus was far away from that place at that moment. His mind was traveled to the previous nights, most specifically to the night that they found Nico di Angelo dead.

His contact inside the police force had called him.

Apparently, Nico di Angelo was continuing to be a thorn on his side after his death. It appears that in his will, Nico expressed how they should check the killer Orcus' phone records, along with his own, to show the connection between the two of them.

His contact was assuring him this was all to rile him up, but Zeus knew that Orcus had called him, he had the recording of that call to prove it. However, he didn't win anything into proving what a _dead_ Nico di Angelo suggested.

He derailed the topic by asking to see Nico di Angelo's will. He was assured that the will would be checked in case it was some sort of falsification. The content was sent a few minutes later in the shape of a picture. Zeus read the will with surprised.

_"Murder with no context, mass shooting without a purpose, falsified voice recording. This is how I die, Cousin. Meaninglessly, in vain. Please check the recent phone call records of the suspect and Zeus Olympia. Those two are connected, definitely. I don't know what their relationship is. Please uncover what their relationship is. I feel wronged."_

Which is why Zeus Olympia was drinking before dinner.

And drinking did not go well with thinking.

His mind and thoughts began to travel until finding themselves into listening to that old recording that could prove that he had spoken to Orcus. Oh, the things Orcus had promised! Had he delivered any of them? He promised to make him president, to make Nico di Angelo the killer... but Nico di Angelo was dead, pronouncing his innocency even after.

Had it been a fair exchange? Make him president for cash? To prove him right about Nico di Angelo? _I don't think it was fair..._ Zeus mused to himself. Now, if they ever find a connection between both of them, he would also go down.

And once down, there's no easy way to come back up.

He deleted the recording conversation, not desiring that anyone would find it.

And kept drinking, waiting for his guests.

* * *

Orcus was locked inside an interrogation cell and was growing frustrated.

He had been changed into a prison suit and he was handcuffed. He wanted information but, the reality was that the police wanted information from him and anything else he spoke about would be ignored.

That's why when Detective Yang walked into the room, he watched him play the part of the non-helpful officer.

"I heard Nico di Angelo died." Orcus began, earning a look from Detective Yang, who just kept looking through the thick file he had brought with himself. "Is he really dead?"

"What does it matter to you whether he is or isn't?" Detective Yang acknowledged and looked at Orcus, impassively. "Just worry about your own life."

"I am asking you if he died." Orcus insisted, gathering all his patience. Which wasn't much.

"What do you think I am?!" Apparently, Detective Yang had even less than him, as he threatened him with a file. Obviously, the idea of getting hit with a folder full of papers wasn't hurtful, the message was conveyed: don't annoy me. "Fine. He's dead. What are you gonna do?" Detective Yang finally said, not actually seeing the importance Orcus did.

"Ah, idiot."

"What?" Evidently, Detective Yang was not expecting that answer.

"All you police bastards are like this..."

"Really, this bastard..."

"Hey, call Zeus Olympia."

"Huh?"

"You know Assemblyman Zeus Olympia. Call him. Tell him I want to see him!" Orcus demanded.

"What?"

"Tell him not to play any funny tricks!" Orcus warned the confused detective. "If he even thinks about doing something to me, I will kill him first! Tell him I will put a hole through his head so act wisely!" After this declaration, Detective Yang glared at him but Orcus was on a roll. "Tell him to go find Nico di Angelo instead. The bastard's not dead yet. Got it?"

* * *

"What kind of crazy nonsense! I got it." Zeus looked up from the glass he was pouring to himself when he heard the voice of his fellow party member, Kronos, walking up to him. Upon confirming it was him, Zeus went back to drinking. "I'm sorry. There was a lot of traffic."

"I started my drink first." Zeus explained back, drinking without care. As soon as Kronos sat down, Zeus poured him a drink.

"Do you know Orcus by chance?" It was obvious that Kronos was not going to beat around the bushes this time. "The suspect who was arrested for the mass shooting."

"Why?" Zeus asked, between wary and confused.

"He keeps looking for you. He wants to meet with you."

"Pardon?" Was all Zeus could say to Kronos.

"You've never met each other, right?" Kronos checked though Zeus could sense the warning laying underneath all those curious words.

"How would I know that guy?" Zeus defended himself.

"That's what I mean. I don't know if someone put him up to it..." Kronos reflected. "Now that that nuisance Nico di Angelo is dead, this guy is causing problems. Seriously."

Right after that, Zeus stopped paying attention when unnecessary.

He had to solve this but he had to solve this _now_.

_I thought he was just a crazy bastard, but that isn't it._ Zeus began musing to himself while in the car once the meeting was done. _It's a trap... but why? How did Nico di Angelo know and in his will..._ In total honesty, it didn't make sense to Zeus how or why Nico di Angelo wrote about it in his will. Could it be that di Angelo was taking a shot to the air? To see if he was right...? There was only one solution on his mind, but... _Get rid of him? Get rid of the source of future trouble?_

* * *

Meanwhile, the other world, Will was keeping updated by reading the manhwa.

Reading how Zeus Olympia made a call to get rid of Orcus was the best that had happened during the last couple of days. That and knowing that Nico wouldn't disappear. He immediately grabbed his phone and made a call while he reread the last sentence of Zeus.

_There's something you need to take care of._

_"Hello? Yes, Big Bro."_ Kayla's voice came from the other side. _"You just saw the manhwa? It was uploaded a while ago."_

"I had surgery, so I just saw it." Will explained to her.

_"Ah, the story is going full steam ahead."_ Kayla's voice was filled with pride. Evidently, she was happy about all of this.

"What about Dad?" Will wondered.

_"He's the same right now. I just checked in on him."_

"Can you check again?"

being opened. _"I just checked 10 minutes ago, I said."_ Kayla repeated, kind of frustrated. Will simply sighed and was enough for Kayla to give in. _"I got it."_ Will heard the steps and the door being open._"Ah, he's the same, seriously!" _She insisted.

"The real culprit hasn't died yet?" Will mused, confused. "I thought Zeus Olympia already took care of him."

_"The time flows differently here and there, so I don't know how far things have progressed."_ Kayla reminded him. _"But when I think about it, I don't think it's too far away, Big Bro."_

"What about him?" Will asked her.

_"Who? Oh, Nico? He went out."_ Kayla was fast in realizing who he was talking to.

"To where?" Will questioned her, curious.

_"I don't know. He doesn't sit still."_ Kayla acknowledged.

"Anyway, keep checking on him for me. I'm done now, so I'll come home right away." Will informed her, a little more cheered up. Hanging up, Will went to change clothes and was in the middle of it when he got a call.

"Hello?"

_"What are you doing?"_ He chuckled when hearing Nico's voice. _I have to start checking who calls me..._

"I was just about to leave work." He half lied to him. "But where are you? I was told you weren't at home."

_"Come out. I'll buy you some coffee."_

"Are you nearby?" Will didn't even need a reply from Nico, he could 'see' his cheeky smile at his trick. "Okay. I'll be right out."

_"What do you want to drink?"_

"Iced Americano?"

_"Americano? I got it."_

As soon as Will hung up, he finished getting dressed and left the resting room before someone started to ask him questions he didn't want to answer. But his mind began to wonder at the future possibilities.

_Hope is making me imagine again._ He walked around, not paying attention to the rest of the people. _If Dad comes back safely, the real finale of W is starting._ He began to think about how the manhwa should end. _Percy will hand over all the information he received from Nico to the broadcasting station._

_And Zeus Olympia goes to jail, as was originally planned, for being connected to the deaths of Nico di Angelo and Orcus. Citizens who loathed Nico di Angelo start to miss him again._

_Even though he died, he clears his name as the main character and escapes the possibility of not existing._

_When Nico returns to this world, 'W' will end with a happy ending._

_When the manhwa is completed, he will also be free from his predestined_

_future as a character._

_He's no longer a manhwa book's main character. He doesn't even have the fate of the main character._

_He is just a unique person who travels between two worlds._

_There's no way Dad would accept that situation, but he will acknowledge it someday._

_I just have to wait with patience. Slowly._

_Mom will be picky, but my aunt will help._

_Since my aunt only cares about someone's face._

Will stopped his mental hopeful train when saw that Nico was waving at him from inside a coffee shop. Will smiled at him and walked inside, surprised to see his drink on the table already.

"You already paid? I was going to." He promised, sitting down in front of Nico.

"I should pay for coffee at least. I make my husband go to work and earn money alone." Nico joked to him.

"Oh my! At least you have a conscience." Will joked back, smirking.

"I do have a conscience. Just not money." Nico argued, playfully to him.

"But why did you come? I was going to go home." Will admitted, curious.

"I was going to take a trip after drinking this." Will looked at him, even more curious.

"Where?"

"I was curious about how things are going."

"The manhwa?" Will checked, more serious, and Nico nodded.

"I'm curious about the situation, and I have to meet with Percy." He explained to him. "And I have to take care of my assets, too."

"Take care of them how?"

"I'm going to make a foundation for criminal investigation purposes." Nico continued to explain, sounding happy with his decision. "Percy will be in charge. That money can't be brought here anyway." _Will he ever stop wondering...?_ "Why? Are you sorry?" Nico asked him when he simply sipping his iced coffee.

"What? No." Will rushed to answer.

"You look like you feel very sorry about it." Nico poked him, showing a small smile.

"No, I'm not. It's not true. Why are you assuming?" Will defended himself.

"When I think about it, maybe you liked my money instead of me. Do you want me to bring back a few gold bars at least?" Nico continued to joke but stopped when Will raised an eyebrow. Once the teasing was done, Nico passed Will a small notebook. "Once these few are drawn, your job will be over."

"What is this?" Will wondered, grabbing the notebook but not opening it.

"Voice recording. It's going to be put in Zeus Olympia's office as evidence." Nico told him. "Since we have to send him to prison." Will nodded in understanding before Nico added. "And I think your father will come back to normal by sometime tonight."

"Are you certain?" Will tried not to look or sound like it but there was no hiding his hopefulness.

"As long as there are no variables."

"What kind of variables?"

"I'm hoping there are no variables. Don't worry about it." Nico smirked at him. Whatever Will was about to ask or said had to wait, as a very loud voice got in between.

"Hey, Will Solace!" Both young men turned to the voice and Will grimaced slightly at the sight of Professor Alscepius coming to them from the order counter with a face that only could mean he was about to show his disappointment. "I'm glad I caught you."

"I told you about him. '_Mad Dog_'." Will whispered at Nico, warning him. Nico could only feel sympathetic by wincing himself.

"You can stay put right there." Alscepius arrived at the couple as if he had run a marathon and not the ten meters that separate them in the coffee shop.

"Yes?" _What the Hell did I do this time...?_

"I, Alscepius, declare that from this day forth, I will turn into a '**W**' anti-fan, instead of being a fan."

"Pardon?" Will looked at him, half-glad that it wasn't something he did... kind of.

"You should know." Alscepius insisted. "You know how much I wanted a beautiful finish from the cartoonist Apollo Solace." Had Will been seeing Nico's face, he would have laughed at the expressions of his boyfriend. He would never know how funny Nico was founding Alscepius' reaction to it. "But you saw it too, right? How things are unfolding right now? Will Solace. Will Solace. That tiresome cesspool man appeared again!" Both Will and Nico were treated with a show from 'childish tantrum' Alscepius and Nico was not helping by making faces at Will! "I- I reached the conclusion that Nico di Angelo is more idiotic than Will Solace. And I am more idiotic than Nico di Angelo, who reads this idiotic manhwa. So, I abandoned '**W**'. '**W**' is not a work of art anymore, but trash."

_Please, be done. Please, be done..._ Will thought but the face he did gave the cue to Alscepius to understand something different.

"Why? What, what? Are you angry that I insulted your father? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter! Deliver to your father my rage exactly as it is." Will blinked at his professor while he kept ranting. "I, representing the readers, can't hide the rage and disappointment. Also, I will write hundreds of anti-fan comments." Alscepius declared. "Tell him to be prepared for the low star rating." He threatened him, with finger included!

At this point in the conversation, Will had his head focused on several things.

One, try not to laugh at his professor's indignity.

Two, try not to dismiss him rudely.

Three, try not to blurt everything at him.

Four, try not to laugh at Nico's incredulous' expressions.

"Hey. You probably have never seen an anti-fan who is as fair and square as me." Alscepius either liked to hear himself talk or had found Will an excellent target of his anger. "I also changed my ID. Tell him that it's me if there is Professor Asclepius anti-fan."

Thankfully, Nico had enough of this.

"It doesn't make sense for you to go so far. For you to become an anti-fan?" Nico argued calmly.

"Excuse me?" Alscepius looked perplexed but Will assumed it was because someone was interrupting him and contradicting him at the same time.

"Nico di Angelo looks that idiotic to you? A man like Will Solace is a fine man." Will tried to hide his smile at Nico's compliment but that statement from Nico only made Alscepius rant again.

"What Will Solace are you talking about? This Will Solace or a manhwa-book Will Solace? There's no Will Solace I know who is considered a fine man." Alscepius answered his own question without a pause.

"This Will Solace is not good?" Nico insisted, gesturing to Will and giving him a winning smile.

"I can't even decide who is more of a wreck." _Ouch, that's hurtful, Professor..._

"To that extent?" _Nico, you're not helping now!_

"Especially this Will Solace is a collaboration of an idiotic taste and a cesspool. He's cessidiot, cessidiot-!"

"Professor." Will interrupted him, firmly, before hearing more insults to himself as if he wasn't there.

"Umm?"

"Aren't you going to order? Should I buy you a coffee? Let's go." Will made friendly gestures of taking Alscepius back to the order counter but Alscepius was focused on something else.

"Hold on a minute. Just who are you...?"

"I thought it was obvious. I'm a friend of Will." Nico replied to him. _Well, it is kind of obvious just by sitting with me..._

"Ah. I see." Alscepius finally realized he was not behaving nicely and apologized to him. _Funny, he should apologize to me and yet, is to Nico..._ "I'm sorry for my bad manners in the first meeting. I was angry so please understand." Alscepius began to leave the table, Will following him, still wanting to get rid of him.

"What do you like to drink? You like the iced latte, right?" Will checked with him, guiding him back to the line before Alscepius stopped walking and turned back to where Nico was. "Professor, what is it again?"

"Have we met somewhere before?" Asclepius was very straight forward to Nico, who looked confused.

"Me?"

"No?"

"It's my first time seeing you." Nico acknowledged and he was right. Will had told him about him but he had never seen it, not even before losing his memories.

"But why are you so familiar to me?" Alscepius insisted on him, even looking at every angle of his face. "Do you resemble someone?" Nico shared a look with Will but whatever mental conversation they _should have had_, it fell to deaf ears and Will almost gets a heart attack.

"Ah. You mean Nico di Angelo?"

"Nico di Angelo?" Alscepius repeated and Nico simply smirked at him. One could see the lightbulb turning in Alscepius' mind, who passed from the curiosity to the immediate worship. "Right, right! You look like Nico di Angelo. That's right, Nico di Angelo." Will would count this as one of the few times he felt the desire to kill Nico in the spot. "You look exactly like him."

"I hear that often." Nico covered, rolling his eyes as if saying '_what can you do?_'

"Right, right. I'm going crazy. How- You look so much like him." Alscepius passed to the total anger to the total euphoria and was laughing like crazy.

"Professor, we should now go order-"

"Seriously... you are perfect for the main character of the remake movie. The synchronization is just WOW."

"Should I?" Nico played along, never losing his smile.

"Your image is perfect. Try out for an audition. What do you do for a living?"

"I'll give you my card." Nico pulled out a card from his wallet, mostly out of habit, and handed it to Alscepius who turned into a babbling mess when he read it. Will looked at Nico in panic but Nico covered it with a laugh and a smile. "I hear it a lot that I resemble him so I made it for fun."

"You're a funny guy!" Alscepius started to laugh again, even going as far as to smack his arm in a friendly way- but judging by Nico's face it was a bit hard. "It's really funny. Nice to meet you, CEO di Angelo. What an idea!" He shook hands with Nico, really unaware he was shaking hands with the real deal.

"Professor! I really have to go now." Will cut in, taking Alscepius back to order. Alscepius allowed himself to be _dragged_ by Will, still talking to Nico.

"Okay, okay. Nice meeting you. Where did you find this interesting guy?"


	38. Episode 13, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 13: Part 2**

"That man..." Nico heard Will complain as soon as they left the coffee shop. "He made us waste twenty minutes on him..."

"I don't need to give you a ride, right?" Nico checked with him but didn't wait for a reply. "When you go back, draw it right away."

"I got it." Will nodded to him. "But it's not something dangerous, is it?" He couldn't help himself to ask.

"You know that I can do what I want freely. Don't worry." Nico reassured him but Will didn't sound convinced.

"Be careful, really." Nico had no other choice but to nod at him.

"I'll call you." He promised before climbing in Will's car, the one he was still using to move around. He noticed how Will waited until he was out of his vision range before walking to his father's home.

_I wonder how everything is back home..._ Nico couldn't help himself to still think the manhwa world as his 'home' since he technically was born there. _How is Reyna coping with all of these changes I'm integrating into the story...?_ Nico's mind wondered around while he drove towards the doppelganger of his former home.

However, his shock was great when he saw Reyna by the hotel's door.

Nico stopped the car abruptly- somehow, he had decided to use the tourist's car entrance so he wasn't causing a collision or something. He looked at Reyna's figure over the mirrors, to confirm that he was not hallucinating- no, she was there.

And she had seen him.

Taking a deep breath and thinking fast how to explain all this, Nico got out of the car to confront... no one. Reyna was not standing by the hotel's door. Actually, despite the doorman, there was no one else around.

He had to confirm it.

"Where are you?" He greeted Will as soon as he picked the phone up.

_"I'm going home right now."_ Will replied, seeming to have missed his urgent tone.

"This is not inside of the manhwa, right?"

_"What are you talking about? How can you talk to me if you are inside of the manhwa?" _ Will reasoned with him, logically. _"You are talking to me right now."_

"But why is Reyna...?" Nico wondered to himself. But Will heard him.

_"Reyna? You mean Reyna Ramirez-Arellano?"_ Despite the circumstances, Will's tone was full of curiosity at his statement.

"I mean..." By this point in the conversation, Nico considered he was going crazy himself.

_"What are you talking about?"_ Will's worried tone reached him and Nico decided not to bother him now.

"It's nothing, I'll call you back. I don't know what it is." _I promise you a better answer when I figure out what happened..._

As soon as Nico was inside the hotel, he rode the elevator to the penthouse and transported himself back to the manhwa world.

That was one way to avoid the crowd.

There, he took a shower and changed some clothes before waiting for Percy to arrive.

"When did you come?" Was the first thing out of his cousin's mouth as soon as he saw him comfortable sitting on a table.

"Just now." Nico half lied to him.

"You told me not to empty this place, so I left it as it is." Percy admitted before asking. "What are you going to do?"

"When I come here sometimes, I need a place to stay." Nico confessed to his cousin, serious.

"Where are you coming from?" Percy was naturally curious to where his cousin was living now but Nico knew he couldn't tell him so decided to tease him.

"From the star land?" Nico pointed up, smirking.

"Jeez. Do you want to anger me? I'm serious..." Percy rolled his eyes in frustration before telling a few truths. "I had your funeral service yesterday. How can you make a joke right now?"

"I'm sorry. It's a complicated story to explain." Nico apologized to him. "We'll talk about it slowly. Where's the will?"

"Here." Percy showed the envelopes that he was carrying with him. Nico immediately set down to read and sign every single paper. He knew time was different, so he could take the time to do such activity.

All under the careful eye of his cousin.

"Wanna know what I'm leaving you...?" Nico annoyed his cousin, knowing he had made no effort in reading what he was now signing.

"Don't entrust me with that. I hate things like this." Percy pointed out when Nico showed him his share of the inheritance.

"Who would I trust if not you?" Nico argued, smirking.

"Didn't I tell you I'm going to retire?" Percy came back at him. "I'm going to start working out again. I'm really not going to do it. I hate going through files." Nico knew Percy good enough to know he was half lying, half telling the truth.

"I'm going to put it under your name for now." Nico acknowledged to him, smirking. "If you really don't like it, find your replacement."

"Oh yeah." Percy began, looking at Nico. "Have you seen Reyna?"

"What?" Nico looked up from the papers he was signing, all traces of jokes gone.

"It looks like Reyna saw you."

"Where?"

"At the lobby a little while ago. She said she saw you riding a car."

"Has she really seen me?" Nico's mind was racing. _So, I didn't imagine her after all...?_

"I had such a hard time covering for you! Be careful, will ya?" Percy advised him before answering his ringing phone but Nico was already in deep thought.

_Is there another variable?_ He wondered to himself. _That's right, I was thinking about Reyna at that moment when I arrived at the hotel._ He reminded himself before trying to think logically. _I'm the main character. And at present, I'm living in the real world._

_Then the third hypothesis._

_If I register the characters in my mind, then those characters in the manhwa can be summoned to the real world?_

"No way, I couldn't have-" Had Percy been present while Nico had his realization, he would have seen his cousin panic for the first time. "Without realizing, have I summoned someone before...?"

Having a bad feeling about this, Nico rushed to his cousin who was still on the phone.

"Cousin! Can you check where Zeus Olympia is right now?"

Evidently, Percy hadn't heard him as he was shouting at someone through the phone.

"How could that happen? How is that even possible inside a police station?" Nico had seen Percy really angry a few times, and this was one. "This is really unbelievable. I understand. Call me back."

"What's going on?" Nico wanted to know, worried.

"The police called. Orcus, that jerk..."

"He died?"

"He didn't die, he escaped."

"_What_?!"

"Does that make sense?" Evidently, Percy was furious about the turn of events. "Are they in their right minds? How could they lose a murderer? Inside a police station at that!"

"How did it happen? Did they tell you?" Nico pressed for information out of Percy and Percy was so angry, he shared with Nico.

"They said he just disappeared while he was being interrogated. And he even killed a police officer on the way out! Does that even make sense?"

"When was that?" Nico demanded.

"I think it's been about an hour." Percy checked with his watch and Nico got even more worried.

"Cousin, I'm sorry. I'll call you later." Nico rushed out of the penthouse and into the elevator while Percy watched in confusion.

Once in the elevator, Nico returned.

* * *

While all this was happening, Will had arrived at his childhood home.

"Kayla!" Will began calling, ringing the bell. When he didn't receive a reply, he dug for his key and began calling for her again, all while walking around and searching. "Kayla! Kayla!" Upon not getting answers, he realized she wasn't home. "Where did she go again?" _Irresponsible child..._ He pulled the keys to unlock his father's room when he noticed something important.

The door was already unlocked.

Trying not to panic, he made a call.

_"Hello?"_ Kayla's voice replied from the other side.

"What happened to Dad?" Will wasted no time in getting to the point.

_"What?"_ Kayla asked, evidently confused.

"The door was opened but Dad is not here." Will explained to her before repeating. "What happened to Dad?"

_"I clearly locked the door and came out."_ Kayla swore, her voice tainted with worry.

"I'll look for him and call you back." Will told her before hanging up.

"Will." He heard from behind him.

"Dad." Will called him before rushing to hug him tight.

After a while of hugging each other, Will forced his father to sit down.

"Are you sick anywhere? Are you okay?" Will asked his father, seeing that he was still a little weak.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay." Apollo replied to him, softly.

"Should I bring you some water?" He offered to him before receiving a trembling nod. "Rest for a bit, and then let's go to the hospital." Will's training kicked off and that was calming him down. "You need a comprehensive checkup. We don't know where you've been hurt or how."

"What exactly happened?" Apollo questioned him when Will went to get him some water. "How did I return to normal?"

"The story is the way you originally planned. Nico di Angelo came here and rewrote it." Will explained to him. "So that Zeus Olympia kills the real culprit. He said that was the only way you could come back."

"Nico di Angelo did?" Apollo stuttered a little.

"Yes, Nico di Angelo came here, Dad." Will told his father but, by the way he was looking at him, he didn't seem to remember that. "You don't remember? You've spent time with him in the last few days."

"I don't know. I don't know." Apollo shook his head fast in frustration and Will placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't think about it. For now, you must rest, Dad."

"What about Nico di Angelo? Where is Nico di Angelo?" Apollo asked, and Will wondered what he feared it had happened.

"He went back there."

"To the manhwa?"

"Yes. Without knowing you're back." Will added. "Once he confirms the death of the real culprit, he will come back. I should call Kayla. She'll be so happy. Poor girl, because of you, she even developed heart disease." Will joked a little picking his phone up, unprepared for the new turn of events.

"Then, Nico di Angelo isn't here right now." Will's eyes shot up, ignoring his phone and concentrating on the voice change in his father. "Ah, I waited for no reason!" Apollo sounded annoyed, even frustrated. More assertive, even.

A completely different man from five minutes ago.

"What?"

"What I'm saying is that I thought this was a chance to get rid of both of you at the same time."

Will's head was spinning.

_This_ was not his father.

"Orcus..."

"It's been a while, Will Solace." Orcus teased Will, smirking at him. Will tried very hard not to show his fear but he didn't hide his shock when Orcus pulled out a gun from behind him. "You were the problem." Orcus scolded him as if he was a bad-behaved child, all while pointing at him with the gun.

"You were! Because of you, the story became a mess! Because you kept drawing. Nico di Angelo should have died cleanly early on." While Orcus talked, he walked closer and closer to Will who kept walking back until he was 'trapped'.

"You hid him and brought him back to life just because you were bewitched by a manhwa. You even made us resume the story! Hey. If it wasn't for you, this manhwa would have ended neatly already! What is all this trouble? Seriously!"

Had Will not been trying to control his fear, he would have thought he was facing an angry fan, not a psychotic killer. But that never entered his mind, especially when Orcus decided to get closer to him, trying to intimidate him.

"I read the whole manhwa after coming here." Orcus acknowledged to Will, whose mind was going overdrive. "I found out how Nico di Angelo's been going back and forth, too. It's nothing once you figure out the concept. Turns out it's something I can do, too." _Oh, crap..._ "Should we go together? To find your husband?"


	39. Episode 13, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 13: Part 3**

_Previously..._

_"Should we go together? To find your husband?"_

While at gunpoint, Will watched in fascination and horror what Orcus was ordering his father what to do.

He had dragged him back to the manhwa world, still pointing his gun at him. Not even seconds later, Orcus began calling out orders to Apollo.

"Now, draw a car." A brand new black car appeared on the side of the road and Orcus forced Will into the driver's seat with his gun. "Draw a cell phone too." From the mirror, Will saw how a cell phone appeared on Orcus' hand, just like the car had too.

He had to figure out a way out of this mess and soon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeus Olympia was dealing with his own problems.

Apparently, the thugs he had hired to do the job of getting rid of Orcus not only hadn't done the job but they had lost him too!

_"They said that the dude escaped from inside the interrogation room!"_

"Do you know what you're saying right now? How can he escape from there?!" Zeus shouted over the phone before hanging up. He was indeed furious. _How could he escape from there..?_ His thoughts were interrupted when he received a call from a 'Restricted Number'. "Hello?"

_"I told you not to mess with me, didn't I?"_ Came the reply from the other side. Zeus didn't even need to ask who was it. _"This bastard just doesn't listen when I helped you that much."_

"How did you get out of there?" _The million-dollar question..._

_"Don't mess with me!"_ Orcus insisted. Zeus could not figure out if he was making a tantrum or a real threat. _"I can kill you right away! You don't even know how the world works. How dare you act up and try to kill me? You think I don't know who would you send after me?!" Evidently, I underestimate you... "Arrange a hideout for me. Now!"_ Orcus demanded him. _"Find one within five minutes, and text me the address. I told you, didn't I? We're now in the same boat."_

"Look here. Why should I?" Zeus argued back.

_"Nico di Angelo is alive. I'm saying that bastard didn't die."_ Orcus insisted. _"If you want to catch Nico di Angelo, don't you dare try anything. Got it?"_ After that, he hung up.

And, as much as Zeus would like to kill this bastard, Nico di Angelo was his biggest target.

* * *

By the time Nico managed to get to Apollo's house, Kayla was on the door about to walk in.

"Oh, Nico." She greeted him but gasped at the sight of him holding a gun. "No-"

"Wait here." Nico ordered her, taking advantage of her shock. "It's dangerous." He rushed into the house, leaving an almost paralyzed Kayla on the door.

Nico walked into the house and the first thing he noticed out of place where Will's keys and wallet on the table, his phone on the floor but no signs of him. He also saw the door of Will's old room, the one where Apollo was staying, wide open... without Apollo inside. Knowing there was only one room left, Nico rushed to the master bedroom, where he was shocked by the sight.

Apollo was sitting on his chair, limply. His face had not returned to normalcy. But what chilled Nico's blood was the sight of a hammer-destroyed tablet on the desk.

Knowing he could nothing else there, he came out to face Kayla, who was curled up by the door in fright.

"What is it?" She managed to ask before he rushed to Will's car.

"It's dangerous here, so go to stay somewhere else." He advised her- no, that was no advice. More like an order.

"What happened? Things didn't end well?" Kayla evidently wanted to know why the sudden situation. Nico had only one answer for that while climbing inside the car again.

"The killer kidnapped Will." _This is all my fault... but I'll fix it._

_No matter what._

* * *

Zeus had been pacing around his office, considering his options.

"This bastard." He mumbled, angry. He had already given Orcus a hiding spot but he had to move forward now. _Exactly where do I begin, and how should I deal with this?_ He immediately made a call, needing to discover his doubts and theories. "Hello? Are you on your way?" Zeus asked his speaker, unaware that someone else was in his office. "Listen to me carefully. You can't kill him." He reminded the person on the other side. "Just watch from the outside what he's doing. I have something to confirm with him, so just make sure he doesn't get away. Got it?" The other person agreed with the statement. "Okay. I'll be over there soon."

The click of his office's door being locked made Zeus turn around and get the shock of his life.

"Where did you send Orcus to?"

Nico di Angelo was alive. And in his office.

And not only that, he seemed beyond angry.

"You..."

"What's the address you just mentioned?" While Zeus was not over his shock, Nico di Angelo immediately charged at him. After a direct kick to his chest, Zeus was practically on the floor if Nico hadn't picked him up from his spot. However, it was not to help him as he began punching his face hard and direct before laying him on his desk and glaring at him. "Where is Orcus?!"

"How are you alive?" Zeus managed to stutter, still in shock. The main reason why he wasn't defending himself. Evidently, Nico was out of patience as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

"Tell me quickly. I don't have time."

After giving the address to Nico di Angelo, Zeus continued in a state of shock until his own employees found him and began to treat him for his wounds after they were surprised by the leave of a young man that had appeared without anyone seeing him coming in.

"Don't be like this. Go to the hospital." His assistant, Ganymedes, insisted but Zeus silenced him about it with a wave of his hand. "I apologize. I didn't see anyone coming in. I don't know how this happened." Ganymedes admitted, very confused.

"Nico di Angelo." Zeus repeated his attacker's name like some kind of mantra or clue. Or as if that explained everything.

"Excuse me?"

"Nico di Angelo is alive."

"But Nico di Angelo died. He looked a lot like him, but-" Ganymedes tried to kill that idea dead but Zeus was no longer listening.

"That bastard was right." He muttered to himself, chuckling a little. He recalled the time that blonde young man had appeared out of nowhere inside his office. _Looks like a connection..._ "Something is there. Something I don't know about... These bastards are both threatening me? Get the car ready!" He ordered loudly to Ganymedes, who looked startled.

"Where will you be going?"

"There's something I have to find out."

* * *

Right after the call to Zeus Olympian, Will found himself being given directions towards nowhere.

After several minutes- Will calculated around half an hour but could have been a little less -, Orcus finally stopped giving directions... but that didn't mean he stopped giving him out orders.

"Okay, stop." Will stopped the car, not even looking at him. "Turn off the engine." Will did as told, closing his eyes to avoid exploding at him. "Get out- No, wait. Get out _after_ me." Orcus changed his mind and rushed out of the car, still pointing his gun at Will from outside.

_I need to find a way out..._ Will thought while Orcus guided him inside what was obviously a warehouse. Once inside, Orcus made Will stand still while he sat in an abandoned chair and, to make matters worse, put on a silencer on the gun's barrel.

"I wanted to shoot while your husband watched, but I think doing this will make Nico di Angelo come find me." Orcus stated, not even showing remorse. _Of course, you wouldn't feel remorse... you were created like that..._ "I waited for a long time. Because Nico di Angelo couldn't remember you. There's no point shooting you when he doesn't remember you as his husband." He teased him but Will kept an impassive face. "Now that Nico di Angelo knows, it'll be worth it to shoot you." He finished, pointing the gun back at him.

"So, this is what is it?" Will dared to ask, hiding deep the fear he was feeling. "Revenge because he ignored you the first time and decided to stop chasing you?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Orcus insisted, smirking. "You're Nico di Angelo's family. Getting rid of you is the reason I exist." He pointed at his ring finger, forcing Will to glance at it. "So why did you have to put on the wedding ring? No one told you to become the main character's romantic partner in a manhwa!" Orcus scolded him as if he was a small kid. "Did you think it would end well?"

* * *

At the same time, Nico was driving as fast as he could to the address provided by Zeus Olympia.

So, his shock was big when he saw the words 'To Be Continued' forming out of thin air, right in front of him. He managed to step hard on the car's brakes before disappearing from the manhwa and back to the real world.

The bad part of disappearing in the middle of the highway was that you would appear on the same spot in the other world. Sadly, the highway was also crowded in the real world and if it wasn't because the drivers were paying attention, Nico would have been run over hard.

As soon as he realized that he was in the real world- mainly, because of the nightlight-daylight contrast -, Nico got out of the highway and onto the side, ignoring the angry shouts of the drivers.

Knowing that there was only one way to discover why the chapter was ending, Nico immediately read the manhwa online and almost had a heart attack when seeing that Orcus was ready to kill Will in cold blood. He kept reading, hoping that it was there where the manhwa decided to stop.

He was wrong.

He watched as Zeus' henchmen appeared in the area and made enough noise for Orcus to focus on that. Will used that opportunity to slowly step back but Orcus' attention was back on Will, who started to run, making a fatal mistake.

He turned his back to Orcus.

And Orcus didn't hesitate to shot him.

Nico could only look as Will felt to the floor and tried to drag himself out of the warehouse, not reaching out very far. He was saved from a second and more closed-up shot of Orcus by the appearance of Zeus' henchmen. Orcus immediately focused on them and killed the entire group- all three of them.

The last image of the manhwa's chapter was Will's passed out expression.

Gripping his phone like if his life depended on it, Nico knew he only had one choice.

"I'm going back."

Seconds later, daylight turned into night and he re-appeared on the same spot he had left. His car was even there, which meant that not a lot of time had passed. _Good..._ He began driving again and soon reached the warehouse's address that Zeus had given him.

There, Orcus was waiting for him.

He was inside the getaway car he forced Apollo to draw for him. He had purposely waited in the dark and lighted up the car as soon as he saw him, smirking at him. That was clearly a challenge and the smirking face of Orcus was like a waving cloth to a bull, as Nico's emotions went from the extreme worry to the biggest hatred.

Both, the hero and the villain of the story, knew this was their final encounter. Like in the old western films, they used their cars as a combination of horses and spears, ready to strike each other and see who would come dead from the simple act of crashing each other.

Both plans worked halfway, as the cars struck each other with the same amount of force but none made a significant impact on the other. It didn't pass to long before both foes pulled out their guns and began shooting at each other, bullets drilling through the windows of the opposite car.

When Nico realized that one of Orcus' bullets grazed his arm, he decided he needed an advantage and he created one, forcing his car to advance and push Orcus' backward. That small advantage helped Nico land a perfect shot in Orcus' body, a shot that splashed his nemesis' face with blood.

Nico didn't stop there and emptied the ammunition clip of his gun on Orcus, who had stopped moving after a while. The backlash of the first hit on him had made him fire some bullets to the air, clearly not hurting anyone. But Nico only stopped for two reasons.

One, his ammunition clip was empty.

Two, Orcus had fallen dead in his place.

It took Nico a couple of minutes to come to terms with what he had done. In the general aspect of things, he had killed a person. Sure, this person had killed his family, murdered people at his former TV broadcasting station, killed his Uncle, framed him for it and shot Will.

Some would call it revenge, others justice.

But Nico wasn't thinking about those things at the moment. He rushed out of the car and into the warehouse. He saw Zeus' henchmen laying there, two dead but one was alive. He didn't care about them, he passed them through and headed to the last corner of the warehouse...

Only to find a big spot of almost dry blood.

_Will... did he manage to return?_

Holding tight to that thought, Nico returned to the real world.

The warehouse was the same but under the daylight was not so scary. He immediately saw two police officers that were talking to whom it seemed a worker of the warehouse and rushed to them.

"Who are you? Where did you suddenly come from?" The worker asked him, confused.

"What happened to the man that was over there?" Nico pleaded, not really caring how did he sound.

"A young man was bleeding and passed out on the ground, so I put him in an ambulance just a moment ago." _Wait, what...?_

"He's alive?" Nico checked, managing a small smile.

"He was at that time, but I don't know. He was dying." The worker admitted and Nico turned to the officers, focused on one thing.

"Where is the hospital? Can you take me there?"

The officers didn't sound too bothered with the request and allowed Nico to climb on the back of their patrol car on their way to the hospital. On the way, they swapped information with Nico, who was worried out of his mind.

"They said that it's serious, that he was hemorrhaging a lot." The officer in the passenger's seat told him before turning around to see him. "It looks like you've been hurt, too. Are you okay?" Nico hadn't even thought about his arm and ignored the question. But he wouldn't ignore the next one. "What is your relationship with the patient?"

"I'm his husband."

And for the first time since the death of his family, Nico allowed the tears to fall.


	40. Episode 14, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 14: Part 1**

As soon as Nico found where inside the hospital was Will, everything became blurry.

He could see the doctors working around him, rushing to get things and speaking to each other. For Nico, their words were blurred, spoken as if they were far away instead of the two feet separating them, he couldn't distinguish to whom the voices belonged to.

Nurses and doctors worked but Nico's eyes were fixated on Will's bloody hand hanging from the side of the bed.

_"Hand me the defibrillator."_

_"Charge it at 150 joules."_

_"Move away. One, two, shock!"_

_"One more time. Move away! One, two, shock!"_

_"Doesn't show pulse! Going into cardiac arrest!"_

All Nico could do now was to watch, helpless.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeus Olympia wanted to know _exactly_ what was happening.

He drove to the direction he sent both Orcus and Nico di Angelo.

He arrived late enough for Nico to disappear- not that he knew that -but soon enough to see the cars crashed against each other and the engines still showing signs of the struggle. Smoke came out of them and Zeus decided to investigate.

Getting out of the car- and wearing gloves -, he approached the closest one. Besides the holes made by bullets in the front window and the engine still making smoke, there was no one there. Inside the car, Zeus distinguished the note he had written for Nico di Angelo... but no signs of Nico di Angelo. He took the note with him in case it served as evidence.

The other one showed the gruesome sight of a dead Orcus on the driver's seat. Zeus immediately began searching his pockets until he found his phone. He took it and continued to search the car, finding something really interesting in the truck of it.

After taking care of the cars, he investigated around. He was sure that his thugs had reached the place but with Orcus dead and di Angelo missing, where could they be? He walked into the only warehouse that had light and saw two of his thugs dead on the floor while the third one was fighting to survive.

"Damn it." He mumbled to himself. _Which of those bastards did this...?_ Glancing to the side, he thought he saw movement and grabbed one of the discarded weapons on the floor. When he went to investigate, all he could find was a long and slightly fresh stain of blood. He immediately returned to his still alive thug. "What is that bloodstain over there?"

"Some man... he shot her." The thug replied, coughing a bit.

"What do you mean man? I don't see a man." Zeus admitted to him.

"He collapsed though." The thug insisted, leaving Zeus even more confused about what was really going on.

* * *

Just as Nico was watching how nurses were saving Will and Zeus was finding out more, Apollo returned fully to his senses.

His first reaction was the shock of watching his loved drawing tablet destroyed in pieces. He got even more scared when he saw he had the hammer on his hands. Slowly, the memories started to come back to him and rushed out of the room.

"Kayla!" He started to call around but there was no one in the house. "Will." He mumbled and was ready to call him but he remembered what had happened to his son. What had looked as if looking from the reader's point of view was soon turning into the character's point of view, making Apollo more and more shocked by the minute, making him realize the truth.

He _had_ shot Will.

His shock was immediately cut by Will's phone ringing on the floor. He picked it up and answered it, a familiar voice on the other side.

_"Hello? Hello! Big Bro! Where are you? Are you alright?"_ Apollo was greeted by an anxious Kayla who was talking without listening. _"Are you alright? What happened? Big Bro? Hello?"_

"Kayla?" Apollo managed to ask, though it was more to Kayla to stop talking.

_"M... Master?"_ Kayla stuttered a little bit.

"What about Will?" Apollo wanted to know but both people had different priorities.

_"Master, where are you? Where are you?"_ Kayla inquired to him.

* * *

After both mentor and student caught up with the events that had happened, Apollo took what little control that he had and drove directly to the last known address of the killer, Kayla riding along. The hope of finding Will there was too big to miss for him and decided to take any chance he could.

There, a worker told them that a man was found with a gunshot and taken away by an ambulance. Neither Apollo or Kayla asked if Nico was with him. The worker gave them that information without asking. They simply couldn't imagine anywhere else where Nico would be.

Kayla tried to calm down Apollo during the ride, assuring him that Will would be alright but Apollo's silence and mental breakdown were not helping the situation, making Kayla nervous now.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Kayla took control of the situation, as Apollo wasn't even fit for it.

"E-excuse me." She stopped a passing-by nurse.

"Yes?" She answered, kindly.

"Perhaps, is a male patient here who has been shot..." Kayla started and the nurse seemed to know who she was talking about.

"Are you Will Solace's guardian?" Apollo became hopeful by hearing that though Kayla was still making the talk.

"Yes. That's right."

"Will, where is he?" Apollo asked the nurse, who suddenly became nervous about it.

"That..." She began before doing her job. "He had surgery and came out well but before the surgery, he had temporary cardiac arrest caused by excessive hemorrhage while he was in the ER." Apollo was turning a bit pale. "We've performed CPR for over 30 minutes and didn't regain consciousness after the surgery-"

"You mean... brain dead?" Kayla interrupted her and the nurse rushed to correct her.

"It's still not a sure state, but if she continues to be unconscious then-" The nurse was interrupted once again but this time was by Apollo losing balance and falling to the floor.

"Master!" Kayla tried to hold him up.

"Are you alright?" The nurse checked on him.

"My Will. Where is my Will?" Apollo begged the nurse, who looked nervous once again.

"That... after we informed his husband, the police came to investigate, since it was a gunshot... but they went to talk to them, they were gone!"

"What?" Kayla repeated, not believing her ears.

"They suddenly disappeared within a few minutes." The nurse explained but Apollo's mind was running miles per hour away from that place. "Along with her husband. We still can't find them. I also find it so strange."

_Wherever Nico went, he took Will with him..._

That gave Apollo hope.

* * *

That night, the wait was long.

Apollo was on a short fuse, especially since his ex and mother of Will, Naomi, called to know where Will was. He dismissed her immediately, forcing Kayla to lie to her. _How do I explain to her all this situation without making her think I'm insane...?_

Apollo only blamed himself for this whole situation. In his mind, there was no one else to blame. His despair grew so much while waiting that he took painkiller followed by a large sip of whiskey... until the half-filled bottle was empty.

All he could do now was to wait.

As soon as the doorbell rang, everyone in the house jumped into action. Apollo could hear Kayla shouting around.

_"Big Bro Will! Big Bro Will! Big Bro Will- Nico."_

He would soon get the answers he wanted.

As soon as Nico's eyes set on Apollo, he could not distinguish any emotion from him. They just stared at each other for a minute before Nico spoke up.

"I see you returned." Apollo noticed that even Nico's voice had no emotion. But that wasn't important right now.

"What about Will?" Apollo wondered. He had held to the wall in support and stayed there, listening to Nico.

"I took him there." 'There', to everyone present, was inside the manhwa. No one needed more explaining.

"Why? What for?" Apollo kept asking.

"Since they said there was no hope." Nico explained, still serious. "If something goes wrong here, there is no turning back." He reasoned before explaining what happened during the last hours. "He stayed at the hospital for 3 days. Even there, they said there was no hope, so I moved him to a hotel. Because I couldn't explain the gunshot. He spent another week there. He squeezed my hand and opened his eyes just once. Very- Very briefly." Finally, Nico started to crack and Apollo feared to make the question.

"And so?" He stuttered, looking at Nico. "What about now?" Apollo noticed how a lonely tear fell from Nico's eyes before answering.

"He's dead."

Right then, Apollo's world turned black.


	41. Episode 14, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 14: Part 2**

Nico decided not to accompany Kayla to the hospital when the ambulance came for Apollo.

It was bad enough to give the news that someone has died but it's worst when the person you're telling that information is the father. He felt like an intruder and decided to wait until the next morning to visit.

But before, a call to know if it was alight.

_"Yes, Nico."_ Kayla greeted him over the phone, softly.

"Is he awake now?" Nico wondered to her, hearing her voice tone.

_"Yes, he woke up just a while ago."_ She told him. _"Nico, one moment."_ Evidently, there was a doctor coming to check.

"Can you give me the room number? I'm on my way up."

_"Room 810."_

"Thanks." Nico thanked her and rode the elevator, wondering how would Apollo react to his visit. He was musing to himself when he turned the corner of the floor, he thought he saw Apollo on his hospital gown rushing up the staircase. Curious and worried, Nico followed him up the stairs until the roof...

Where he found him about to jump the rail.

He immediately ran to him and started to pull him back despite his protests.

"Let go! Let go!" Apollo screamed at him but Nico didn't listen and kept pulling him down until he was secured on the floor next to him.

"Why are you doing this?" Nico questioned him, serious.

"I did it." Apollo cried to him, not even looking at his face. "I was the one who shot. I shot Will. It was me who shot him."

"You did not shoot him." Nico argued to him but Apollo shook his head.

"No. I did shoot him." He insisted, sobbing. "I remember it all. I shot my son."

"No. That's not you." Nico tried to pull that thinking off him.

"I... can no longer live." Apollo complained. "I can not live anymore."

"Get yourself together and listen to me!" Nico had enough of that thinking and shouted at him, forcing the man- technically, his father-in-law -to pay attention to him. _At least, he stopped talking..._ "Do you know why I sought for you? It's because you have something to do." Nico admitted to him. "Don't blame yourself. You did not shoot your son but the killer did. But the only one who could save him is only you. That's why you should get yourself together. You can't break down. You need to save your son!"

"How could I save him? He's dead." Apollo reminded him, not like Nico needed that.

"He did die, but you can save him." Nico continued his explanation. "Will became a halfway manhwa character like me when we got married. So, he gets hurt and bleeds in the manhwa, and that is why he died after being shot. But instead, because he became a manhwa character, you can save him by drawing. Just like how I was brought to life after being dead." Nico could see how his explanation was pulling Apollo out of his emotional state and into his rational one. Nico could see the spark of hope igniting again. "Do you understand? With your drawing, you can make him alive. That is why before he died I brought him inside the manhwa world. It's not the end yet. I will never give up. I will, with no fail save him." He promised to Apollo.

"How could I draw? It's all crushed." Apollo remembered, looking guilty. "I broke it with a hammer because that bastard told me to. That bastard told me so I crushed it all. There isn't a tablet anymore." He began to cry again softly.

"There is." Nico argued to him. "There is one for sure. Somewhere."

Nico helped Apollo to get up from the floor and to sit on a nearby bench to continue their conversation.

"You probably don't know what Will means to me." Nico began, looking at the horizon. "Will is my _only_ family. Not the fake family that you made but a true family that has substance." He hurried to add. "Not with those fabricated memories but actual memories that we shared together. Not a predetermined fate but a fate that I chose myself. For the first time, only with my own will." He turned to Apollo, who was listening in silence. "That's why I can't give up. Will... is the proof that I'm human, just like you and him. That I am a human being. That's why I will surely save your son and be happy together. This time I won't back up. Nobody can make me despair. I will come from behind and win for sure. And the ending will be a happy ending no matter what."

After hearing him talk, Apollo decided to focus on something Nico had said before.

"How could there be another one?" Nico didn't need to be a genius to know Apollo was referring to the tablet. "Until now, I only used one tablet."

"There must be a replacement. There must be a copy drawn somewhere in the manhwa." Nico reasoned, serious. "If not, there's no way the killer would have broken it. That is the most important thing to him. He just had it crushed so that we could never use it." Suddenly, Apollo was looking at him as if he had the answer. "Don't you remember?"

"I put it in the trunk." Apollo said to him.

"Trunk of the car?" Nico checked with him. "When the police looked for evidence, there was no tablet." Nico recalled the report from the police but both reached the same conclusion. "Zeus Olympia."

"Zeus Olympia." Apollo repeated, sure of it. "But the copy will have the same functionality?" He wondered.

"We won't know. We need to use it to know what's different." Nico confessed to him. "But still, we have to find it. First, we must."

"Yeah." Apollo agreed, beginning to show the signs of tiredness. Without words, Nico stood up and began carrying him on his back and into the elevator, back to his room.

"Oh right, now your life is important to me too." Nico added once they were down the elevator on the right floor. "Not as the god who made me but as the father of my husband. You are already my family. You might not acknowledge it, but that's how it is to me. That's why, don't do things like what you did earlier, please! Okay?" He advised him, smirking a little bit while taking him to his room.

* * *

While Nico and Apollo were having their heart-to-heart talk, Kayla was helping Professor Asclepius looking for the missing patient.

"Where did he go?" Asclepius wondered, walking by Kayla.

"But why did he suddenly go out? What did you say?" Kayla wanted to know, looking around the hallway.

"Well, I didn't say anything much." Asclepius started. "I just asked something about the manhwa-" That got Kayla's attention. "-and when I asked why Will Solace died, and he just suddenly-" Kayla's silent gasp made the Professor stop talking and watch the young woman in front of him groan in understanding. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Sheesh! Why would you ask that? Why!" She told him, raising her voice. That only made her sound even higher-pitched and surprised Asclepius. "There are other things to ask! Why did you ask that to a patient! Are you in your right mind?" She screamed at him while Asclepius only stared at her, surprised. "As a doctor, you have no mannerism, and can't even get a hint about the situation! Why did you ask that kind of thing! Why! Do you have any thoughts or not! Oh, Master." Asclepius was saved of more ranting by the entrance of Nico, who was carrying an exhausted and asleep Apollo on his back.

"Call a nurse." Nico told Kayla, who relied on the order to Asclepius.

"Please call a nurse." He repeated before following Nico and fawning over Apollo and leaving a confused and hurt Asclepius behind.

* * *

Once Apollo was back in his bed, Nico told Kayla his intentions.

"I will be going back now." He informed her. "Please take care of him." He walked out of the room followed by Kayla and he swore he heard Apollo mumble something.

_"Arrogant punk."_

That made him smirk but hid it from Kayla.

"Nico." Kayla stopped him, looking worried. And Nico didn't blame her. "Please be careful. Honestly, I'm going crazy." She admitted to him.

"Don't cry and wait. I might call for help." Nico told her, trying to keep her grounded.

"To me? What?" She wondered, confused.

"I don't know yet, either." Nico recognized to her.

"Be careful, okay?" Kayla insisted on him before Nico left the hospital.

He had a mission to do.

* * *

It took Nico no time to arrive at Zeus Olympia's office, both in the real and manhwa worlds.

He was lucky, there was no one in the office and it was nighttime. He immediately spotted the tablet on Zeus' desk and went to retrieve it, making the mistake of leaving the gun he had carried with him to the side. As soon as his hands touched the tablet, he realized something.

It was not the tablet he was looking for.

"It's not the same one." He mumbled to himself, reaching the inevitable conclusion. _It's a trap!_

Before he could react, a hand came out of the shadows and hit his shoulder from behind, taking him by surprise. But what really took him by surprise was the syringe that was stuck into his neck, presumably full of sedative.

Nico fought the attacker and the syringe but the drug was immediately taking effect on him. The first thing he felt was disorientated and fell to the floor while someone mocked him.

"Hey, Nico di Angelo." Evidently, Zeus Olympia was waiting for him. "Is this what you are looking for?" Nico saw the tablet on Zeus's hands but couldn't move to grab it.

He passed out soon afterward.


	42. Episode 14, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 14: Part 3**

Nico woke up from his induced sleep when someone yanked his hair back tight.

His first reaction was to move his hands but realized quickly that he was tied up on a chair and unable to move freely.

"Wow! It's been a really long time for us to be meeting like this again, isn't it?" Zeus Olympia's voice didn't help with waking up but Nico soon saw that they were in a warehouse only the two of them, though he didn't doubt some of Zeus' thugs were outside keeping guard. "Ever since Nico di Angelo became CEO di Angelo Cheol, I couldn't touch you at all." Zeus told him, reminiscing old times.

_Those were the good days... when you weren't even a dot in my radar..._

"But now, you are dead. You've put up a show on your own that you are dead." Nico was not listening, mainly cause he was looking for a way to escape or stall for time. "So even if you die here again, no one will say anything. You're already dead."

_I won't die here._

"Even if I kill you here right now, I won't be found guilty of anything." Zeus emphasized his point by grabbing him by the neck and shaking him a little. "Huh?! You dug your grave, jerk! Do you get it?!" Nico simply glared at him and said nothing. "Does it still feel foggy? Are you still out of it?" Zeus slapped Nico's cheek slightly.

_Lovely, you are still concern over my wellbeing..._

"Hey, aren't you curious where I got that injection?" Nico frowned his eyebrows, conveying his message.

_Should I?_

Zeus must have taken his expression as a green light for an explanation because he snapped his fingers and gestured to the nearby table... that had the tablet.

"It's fascinating, right?" He said, impressed, while Nico kept frowning. Zeus punched some commands in a computer connected to the tablet and, on the surface of the table appeared another syringe where there was nothing before.

_The bastard figured it out..._

"How can there be something like that?" He laughed as if he had won the lottery. Seconds later, he gave other commands and the syringe disappeared. "During the past weeks, I've been experimenting with it... Not just revolvers. There are all kinds of medications!" He stated, Nico still looking at him, before going to check the computer screen. "Natrium Amytal. Scopolamine, Sodium Pentothal. Amphetamine, Mescaline. There! Which injection should I give you? What do you want? Sodium?"

_He absolutely lost his mind..._ Nico couldn't show his desperation but Zeus was beginning to scare him. _And I'll lose my life if I don't get out of here and take that tablet home..._ He watched as Zeus made another syringe appear out of nowhere... but didn't make it disappear. He kept observing as Zeus walked to him with the syringe and placed it right next to his neck... but not stick it.

"My CEO Nico di Angelo..." Zeus began, emptying the content of the syringe in front of him. "In case you die of a drug overdose, I let you live." He chuckled at him. "You were appearing and disappearing suddenly, acting like Batman. Now that you are drugged up, even that must be hard, too." Nico said nothing, he just closed his eyes. "Isn't it a type of story that would come out in a manhwa or something?" Zeus asked, dropping the empty syringe on the table. "If you press "Enter," it appears; if you press 'Delete," it disappears again." He then turned to Nico. "Why you were in a gunfight against Orcus, now I understand. But, what I'm really curious about is, what on earth is this? This!" He emphasized while pointing at the tablet.

_He's getting desperate... I need him to make a mistake..._

"From now, these are the questions you have to answer." Zeus insisted before beginning the interrogation by grabbing Nico by the hair and pulling his head back hard. "Where did Orcus get that and what is your relationship with him? How did you know I have that? Who is the original owner of that thing? Who is the man who disappears after getting shot at the scene? How can you come to my office so easily?"

_Like I'll tell you..._

"Let's start." Zeus tapped his shoulder, realizing he wasn't going to answer in good terms. Not so shocking to Nico, Zeus pulled out a metal bar and waved it on his face. "This is the price for tormenting me for the past 10 years."

And, without any warning, Zeus began hitting Nico with it.

He started right on his chest, several times. Nico tried not to show his pain but when Zeus had the brilliant idea of kicking the chair he was tied up to, he had nowhere to move once Zeus began hitting on the side of his body. He still had the sedative in his bloodstream and it was hard to move if you were tied up.

If Zeus had been content to hit just one spot, Nico believed he could take it. But when he gave some swings against his head, he began bleeding and his shirt was more red than white at that moment. He began coughing and blood would come out.

"Ah, this bastard." Zeus complained, stopping for a second. "Hey. Hey, you won't talk? Huh?" He pushed an almost unconscious Nico around with the bar on the leg. "Hey! Huh? Hey!" Zeus insisted and Nico was relieved that he got a call, dropping the bar for a minute. "Yes." Zeus answered. "Ah, I have something to take care of. Yes, I'll be right there." Whoever was on the line, Zeus was more scared of it that what Nico could do. "That's right. Since you were young, you were pretty good at keeping your mouth shut, weren't you?" He mocked him, putting the brave facade. "But it will be a bit different this time. You should know, what is in here, too." He tapped the tablet. "You'd better be prepared." Opening his eyes a little, he realized that Zeus was about to leave.

A crazy, impulsive plan came to his mind.

"Hospital." He mumbled softly. But it was enough for Zeus to stop moving.

"What?"

"Hospital." Nico repeated in the same tone of voice, closing his eyes a little. Zeus distinguished that Nico was talking but couldn't understand the words.

"Say that again. What did you say?" He told him, kneeling next to him.

"I have to take it to the hospital." Nico explained, still in low voice.

"What about the hospital? Say it louder." Zeus was losing his patience and Nico tried not to smirk at him.

He was about to give him the shock of his life.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the real world, Kayla was getting the shock of her life.

Evidently, people wanted her to die young of a heart attack!

* * *

"So, you are telling me to believe what you said." Zeus sounded skeptical of Nico's words but Nico said nothing in comfort.

"It's true." He said though he did look desperate to be believed. If only for his plan to succeed. Nico watched Zeus as he deliberated with himself before, out of nowhere, Zeus kicked him on the face hard.

Luckily, Nico didn't pass out as he could see how Zeus took the tablet with him and left the warehouse. He ordered his thugs inside to watch over him but that wouldn't mind if his plan worked out. The men at least picked him up and placed him on the chair instead of leaving him on the cold floor.

All Nico now had to do it wait.

He waited for what it seemed like an eternity, trying not to fall asleep because of his wounds but after a while, he did the question.

"What time is it right now?"

"What?" His guards were surprised by him talking.

"Just tell me what time it is. What time is it?" Nico insisted.

"It's 2:30." One of them replied.

"2:30?" Nico repeated, stretching his neck a little, chuckling. _Then, thirty minutes have passed... It's about time for it to arrive..._

"What?" The thugs inquired when they saw him chuckling.

Nico didn't care, he had a message to send.

"Kayla, the material is going there. Please take good care of it."

* * *

As soon as Kayla finished reading the new update of the manhwa, he rushed to find Apollo.

"Master! Master!" He rushed into the room before stopping herself a little under Apollo's questioning look. "M- manhwa has been uploaded."

"What?" Apollo stood up from his bed, looking extremely worried. "Did something go wrong? To him, too?" He wondered, unsure.

"I'm not sure whether it went wrong or not." Kayla admitted. "Nico is almost dying." Without waiting for any more explanations, Apollo took Kayla's phone from her hands and began reading for himself. "Master, look at this." Kayla pointed at the last drawing. "He sent me a message. He put this message for me to see, right? He said the material is coming here. What could the material be? What is the material? Could it be the tablet? Right?"

Apollo wasn't listening completely, he was racing through the different scenarios of what could have happened inside the manhwa and the reason why Nico would send such message to Kayla.

Suddenly, an unknown voice spoke behind them.

"What is this?"

Of all the people in the room, no one was more surprised than Apollo about the appearance.

"Master, it's Zeus-" Kayla shut herself up, covering her mouth.

"Perhaps, are you Apollo Solace?" Zeus Olympia spoke to him.

"Yes, that's me." Apollo admitted, nodding.

"You're saying you're Apollo Solace?" Zeus evidently wanted to confirm, earning another nod. "But you weren't here just a minute ago- Wait a minute." Zeus began looking at him with more attention. "But why do you look exactly like Orcus?" Apollo knew it was impossible to explain the difference and Zeus seemed to have made his mind. "You- Perhaps, you are Orcus, right?! How did you-?"

Kayla didn't waste the opportunity and launched at Zeus, taking the tablet successfully away from him. However, Zeus reacted to the attack and grabbed Kayla by the neck, choking her a little.

Apollo didn't allow things to go further in danger as he grabbed his serum lectern and began using it as a weapon against Zeus, hitting him on the back several times until he released Kayla. Once Zeus was on the floor, Apollo took the tablet from Kayla and rushed to the nearby desk.

"Master... How could Zeus Olympia bring it personally? He isn't a delivery person!" Kayla was trying to recover from the shock but Apollo was not listening. "This is... a real table, right? So there was a copy. But do you think it will function again, Master?" Apollo connected the tablet to the laptop and turned it on. "Master. Zeus Olympia... Zeus Olympia... Zeus Olympia went back." Apollo only glanced at where Zeus was before turning to the tablet and find another twist on the story.

His hand was disappearing.

He had no time for that now.

He had to draw.

* * *

In the same world, a bit far from the hospital, two warehouse workers who were beginning their last tasks of the day were greeted with a tied-up, bloody and passed out young man inside their locked-from-outside warehouse.

* * *

Meanwhile, Percy Jackson knew he had to give explanations.

The sudden appearance of Zeus Olympia's men in the penthouse to see if Will Solace was dead raised some questions between the most loyal security members and now, he had to give the explanations as to why Olympia's men were saying that CEO di Angelo was alive.

"Yeah." He was talking to Frank while walking into Will's room. It was a habit, it was the most silent room in the apartment. "Gather in the hotel for now. There is something I need to explain to you guys." He began sighing. "CEO di Angelo is in danger. The truth is that CEO di Angelo-" As soon as he said those words, Percy's eyes laid on Will, almost dropping his phone in the process.

Will Solace, who hours prior was dead, was alive and with his eyes open, looking at him.

_"Cousin?"_ Percy ignored Frank for now, focusing on the 'miracle' that was in front of him.

"Mr. Solace?" He checked before rushing out of the room, shouting. "Nurse. Nurse!"

He should have stayed longer.

* * *

One minute, Will opened his eyes and saw Percy Jackson.

The next one, he could barely distinguish the words 'To Be Continued' on the edge of his bed.

It would look hard to explain when someone came into the room.

Luckily, he managed to get up from the bed, feeling better than he imagined. Someone had changed his clothes, so he wouldn't need to do so, nor he would need to rush to find clothes. He walked through the hallways, trying to look like another guest until he reached the manager's office.

"Excuse me." He spoke to the manager, calmly. "Is there any possibility to use a phone?"

"This way, sir." The manager nodded at him, guiding him inside and offering him the phone before giving him some privacy. Will stopped before dialing. Who should he phone to? His Mom? _No, she would get more worried..._ His Dad? He dialled the number several times but no one answered. Kayla? Shaking his head, he dialled someone who wouldn't ask questions.

_"Hello?"_ Kayla's voice was welcomed openly.

"Kayla." Will called her gently.

_"Big Bro?"_ It was obvious that Kayla was surprised.

"It's me. What happened?" Will continued, serious. However, his listener was beyond listening now.

_"B-Big Bro?! Big Bro, Big Bro Will? Are you really Big Bro Will?"_ Kayla asked over and over again, in happiness. _"But, this is imposs... Big Bro, is it really you?"_

"Yeah, I'm alive. I guess I survived." Will checked that no one was coming in when he was speaking.

_"But, where are you? Where are you right now, Big Bro?"_ Kayla wanted to know, happiness leaking in her voice.

"I- I'm in the hotel right now. I just came back so suddenly." Will explained a bit.

_"Are you okay? You're fine? You can talk? Oh, you're talking right now."_ Kayla answered her own question before firing again. _"Well, nothing's strange? You can move all your fingers and toes?"_ Will could not bring himself to interrupt her. It was a nice rant. _"And you can remember everything? What about the place you got shot?"_

"I'm not hurt." He admitted. "I'm totally fine."

_"Ah, you really make people worry!"_ Kayla scolded him.

"How did I survive?" _I have to know how..._

_"Ah, really! Master! Master's drawings!"_

"Dad came back?"

_"Of course!"_ _That was weird..._

"But, he's not answering my calls."

_"Huh? Ah, he should be in the house right now. He kept waiting for the manhwa to appear."_ Kayla suggested, a bit calmed down. _"If he saw the manhwa, he'll come to find you soon. I'm looking for Nico right now."_ Kayla's voice turned a little more serious and Will picked up on it.

"Where?"

_"Well, the place Nico was tortured."_

"What do you mean _tortured_?" Will emphasized, not liking this.

_"I came here to find him but he's not here right now."_ Kayla said, serious. _"They said that they were worried so they called an ambulance, but he was gone by the time they arrived. But, he would've went back to you, right?"_

"Is he really hurt?" Will insisted before getting a better idea. "No, I'll look at the manhwa to see what happened. That'll be faster."

_"Want me to pick you up, Big Bro?"_ Kayla offered to him but Will declined.

"I'll go back on my own... You keep looking for him..." It was in that moment when the manager walked back in and Will hung up. "Thanks for the phone... I was wondering if I could use a computer for a moment?" The manager nodded and offered him a computer in the same office.

Will immediately searched for the manhwa.

* * *

After reading the latest manhwa episode, Will found himself holding back the tears while waiting on the hotel's front room.

In the moment he read what had happened, a small part of him wished that it was all fake but he knew it wasn't like that. The torture Nico had been exposed to left him weak and Will began to worry when he wasn't seeing him arriving.

"Why isn't he coming?" He mumbled, looking around. His worries about Nico not arriving soon were replaced by curiosity when a loud thunderstorm was heard pouring from one second to the other. Looking around, Will thought it was strange... until he saw something that cleared some doubts.

Reyna Ramirez-Arellano was walking to the hotel with an umbrella in hand.

Will stared in her direction but Reyna didn't see him until a moment later. It was obvious that she didn't know him and kept walking inside the hotel.

Will's questions were answered when seeing floating words.

'**Final Episode**'.

He was back inside the manhwa.


	43. Episode 15, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 15: Part 1**

As soon as Will saw the floating letter, he walked back inside the hotel and to the front desk.

"May I help you?" One employee wondered to him.

"What's the date?" At this point, Will was past caring if he sounded insane or not. And if the question was weird, the front-desk employee didn't say.

"The 15th of August."

"August?" Will repeated, surprised. _We were in September last time..._ A small lightbulb turned into his head and faced the front-desk employee. "No way! Are we in 2020?"

"Yes." The employee replied, confused.

No more than Will at the moment.

_I was unconscious a whole year... I missed a whole year..._

It took a moment for Will to actually acknowledge that information. The things that could have happened in the meantime were many. He was debating with himself what to do next when he caught a glimpse of Reyna coming out of an elevator. He decided to approach her, hoping she wouldn't think he was creepy.

"Excuse me... Reyna Ramirez-Arellano?" Will called her and Reyna turned to see him.

"Yes? Who are you?" It was obvious Reyna didn't know him.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" Will asked her, politely. Reyna didn't deny the request, just looked at him.

"I feel like I've seen you before. Who are you?" She insisted and Will decided to be honest with her. Or as honest as he could.

"I'm Will Solace." Will could see the name sparking recognition on Reyna's memory.

"Oh! Aren't you that person from last time? The one who was with CEO di Angelo when he was on the run." She remembered now, somehow feeling more at ease to Will's surprise. "I will contact CEO di Angelo's company for you. He's been looking for you, so he will probably be able to help you. I don't work there now." She informed him, surprising Will.

"Why?"

"I've quit last year." She explained to him before searching for something on her phone. "Hold on, he changed his number." She justified her search.

"What is CEO di Angelo doing right now?" Will questioned tentatively but that only made Reyna switch moods.

"Don't you know what happened?" She argued back but not in a fighting stance. More as if she couldn't believe he was asking that.

"I was gone from the USA for a year..." Will lied to her.

"The police caught him last September." Will's eyes widen. _He- he was in prison...?_ "He was discovered at the doors of the hospital, beaten badly. After he was taken to the hospital, he got arrested right away. Because his fake death was revealed, there was a huge commotion. Since then, he's been in jail."

"He's been in jail for a year?" Will wanted her to clarify and Reyna didn't disappoint.

"It's a murder charge. He is accused of murder, being a fugitive, fabricating evidence, and even forgery of an official document." She numbered, sighing softly. "Tomorrow is the judgment day for the appeal at New York Appellate Court. You can meet him at court tomorrow."

"What about you? Aren't you going?"

"I'm on the way to the airport for a business trip to Europe." Reyna shook her head, explaining. "I really hope things will turn out alright. Please give my regard to him." Without any more words, Reyna nodded her head and kept walking to her destination. Will realized that Reyna finally moved on and broke the mold of her predestined path.

He was happy for her.

Now, he only had to wait until the morning.

* * *

When the morning came, Will called a taxi and headed to the court Reyna had helpfully pointed out.

He immediately searched the room for the appeal case and found it soon enough in the public notices board. He walked into the room and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible but that didn't do it.

None of the presents had noticed that he had walked into court- except maybe the judge but he was busy talking. The lawyers, attorneys, and the public were enthralled in the judge's words that didn't notice Will walking into the room.

But Will had eyes for Nico. Well, the back of his head.

He ignored what the judge was talking about and walked through the aisle, fixated in Nico to concentrate on something else. He was stopped by a hand holding his wrist and only noticed when the owner of the hand turned him to look at it.

"Mr. Solace!"

Percy Jackson's voice broke monotonous monologue of the judge and Will saw how Nico turned slowly to face him. Nico's face gave away nothing, or at least gave away less than Will's. He felt that he stared at him for a long time but it only had been a few seconds because the judge immediately called for Nico's attention.

"Defendant, are you listening?" After a small smile, Nico was forced to turn around and pay attention to the judge while Percy gently dragged Will into a seat next to him so he could see the end of the appeal.

"What happened?" Percy asked him, clearly surprised about this turn of events. "Were you really alive? That time, you suddenly opened your eyes then disappeared. Do you know how bewildered I was?" Will couldn't blame Percy for saying those things.

But he had something bigger to concentrate now.

* * *

Nico wasn't lucky regarding the appealing trial.

But he was really happy to see Will again.

What was left of the trial, he kept glancing back and catching Will's eye and smiling softly. He felt that everything would be solved now- maybe not in the way he wanted but they would resolve themselves.

A few seconds after the judge officially rejected his appeal, it didn't take long for someone to try to cross the bar to get him.

"You can't go in." Nico got up from his seat before Will started to even argue with the official that tried to stop him.

"I'm sorry. Just for a moment." Nico apologized and the guards stood back, giving them privacy. "Why are you only appearing now?" Nico wanted to know and Will didn't disappoint into answering.

"I came right away but what can I do when a year has passed by then." Will explained himself, the truth would sound like an excuse for everyone else but not for Nico. He knew they lived in a crazy world.

"You came right away?" He checked and Will nodded.

"I came back as soon as I woke up." He confirmed to him and Nico snorted to himself.

"What's this?" He asked himself before giving himself an answer. "Then was I the only one who spent a whole year worrying?" Nico concluded, not able to joke about the situation. "'Why isn't he coming? Percy said he saw him opening his eyes...'. 'Did he perhaps change his mind and is meeting another man?'. I worried about all sorts of things." Nico admitted before continuing. "Or 'is he frightened after watching the manhwa, and is not wanting to come back because he doesn't want to care for a criminal who received a death sentence?'". Will kept staring at him in silence. "You got married to a self-made young millionaire and now he's broke and not just that, he's a condemned criminal. I could understand that."

"You can joke at a time like this?" Will scolded him but Nico noticed that he was trying to sound more playful than he looked.

"Let's go." One of the guards that were standing there got closer to him to take him away.

"Wait a moment." Nico stopped him, gently. "He's my husband whom I haven't seen in a year. Just a moment." The guards relented and walked away just a few meters.

"Why didn't you go out? You could have just come out." Will wondered, lowering his voice.

"I couldn't get out." Nico saw the surprise and the worry all over Will's face. "I tried countless times for a whole year but it didn't work. I couldn't go out." It was Nico's time to explain.

"Why all of a sudden?" Will questioned, not mainly to him.

"I think because it's the last chapter." Nico answered anyway.

"You need to go." The officers ordered him and started to drag him away but Nico didn't fight them.

Though he did have parting words for Will.

"Do you know that? This is '**W**' last chapter?"

"You should come with me." Nico heard faintly Percy suggesting it to Will after the guards took him to another room. "The trial isn't all over yet. You should gather strength and prepare for the next."

_We all have to, cousin..._

* * *

Nico was now waiting in the courthouse holding cells to be transported.

He had kind of resigned to his fate when he saw the impossible.

A key on his handcuffs appeared out of nowhere.

Nico's mind went overdrive. There were only three people in his little world who had the knowledge to do so. One of them wanted him to be dead, so he wouldn't risk it. Of the other two, he just saw one and the other...

His eyes widen in the realization of what was happening.

Glancing around, he only saw one guard behind a desk as the other one was preoccupied to take another inmate to its hearing. Trying not to make noise, Nico unlocked the handcuffs off him and walked to the cell's door... where another key appeared.

Taking his chance, he unlocked the cell's door too and once he did, a gun appeared on his hand.

His fate had been changed and was sealed when his plan didn't work out the first time.

_It would seem it's to improvise..._

* * *

"Let's go to the penthouse." Percy suggested to Will once they were out of the courthouse and on the car. "It's empty because CEO di Angelo said to leave it be since you would be coming back."

"You want me to live in a big place by myself? I don't want to." Will declined the offer, thinking it was too big for him. "I just need a single room."

"A small place is hard to guard. Just go there." Percy insisted before he got a call. "Hello. Yes, we already left." He told whoever was on the other side. Will imagined it was one of the few guards still loyal to Nico. "What?! CEO di Angelo, did _what_?!"

Will's brain was overdrive now.

Something had happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeus Olympia was finishing at a gathering with kids as part of his official run for the presidency.

He disliked every second spent with the children but if the media thought he was doing good, it was worth the trouble.

"These days, why are the kids so aggressive." He complained to himself once he was alone in his car. "How did they educate those kids?" He mumbled before answering his ringing phone. "How did it go? Is it a death sentence?" He was kind of upset that he couldn't witness Nico di Angelo's appealing trial but had someone gone for him. "What? _Escaped_?!"

* * *

"No, how could he escape?" Will wanted to know the details Percy just got told.

"He got his handcuffs off, opened the cell's door and got a gun. How on earth did he get the handcuffs off, that bastard." Percy was almost spitting fire at the troubles his cousin was causing. However, Will was seeing this from another angle. _Who would help him...? I can't, so... _ "Now, I'm not even surprised since he has caused so many problems. First, I think we need to go back to the courthouse-"

"Can you drop me somewhere?" Will asked him. Percy looked confused but did anyway, dropping Will in the next corner. "I think it would be more dangerous if we go together." Will explained to him before getting out. "So if he gets in touch with you just tell him that I'm here."

"Can I ask you just one thing?" Percy suddenly asked Will, who nodded. "I heard from CEO di Angelo but I can't believe it is true." _Nico, what did you say...?_ "He said there is a different world that is like this. And you came from there." There was some silence following that statement. "Is that true?"

"Yes." Will admitted to him.

"I understand."

_Another self-aware character... Are we doing them good...?_


	44. Episode 15, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 15: Part 2**

Back in his office, Zeus Olympia was trying to find sense to the words his assistant had spoken about what happened in the courthouse.

First, Nico di Angelo's appeal had been denied.

Then, he escaped police custody with a gun that, not he hadn't stolen from an office but seemed to had appeared _'out of thin air'_.

And the cherry on the top had been when Ganymedes had said he had seen Will Solace _alive_ and walking next to Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo's right hand, and his attorneys.

"Nico di Angelo disappeared and Will Solace is alive and appeared again." He mumbled to himself. _Then does that mean that tablet is in Nico di Angelo's hand?_

Suddenly, the sensation that someone was sticking a syringe on his neck was so overwhelming, Zeus turned around, holding his own neck.

Someone was watching him.

And that person had the tablet.

* * *

Will walked into a small cafe right after Percy dropped him off.

He sat by the window and waited there for a while, thinking about what was going on. During his waiting time, he reached two conclusions.

One, whoever had the tablet- his main bet was Zeus Olympia, though he didn't understand what he would gain -was thinking it was helpful.

Two, this was the Final Chapter. And no one would be allowed to get out until it was over.

His muses were interrupted when a car parked by the side of the cafe. Will sighed in relief when he saw it was Nico, who pulled down the window and made Will gestures to come closer. Wondering what he was going to say, Will walked out of the cafe and to the car, getting himself in after checking no one was looking at them.

"I guess you've gotten used to being the romantic interest of the main character of a thriller." Nico teased him as greeting, not even gesturing to drive the car.

"Why are you so late? I thought they caught you!" Will wondered, glad to let out some of his worries.

"I had to meet someone." Nico said, a bit serious but will had more to say.

"Why do you keep doing that? Why did you suddenly escape?" Will scolded him. "If you keep on doing this, how can we get a happy ending? How many crimes are there in total?"

"Our happy ending failed when I got arrested." Nico explained, not upset for his outburst. It was logical. "The storyline for having Zeus Olympia adjudicated has its motive made moot."

"Then, any ideas on what are we going to do?"

"You should plan it again, on how to have a happy ending." Nico teased him again, making Will lean back on the seat, thinking. "Hold on!" He surprised him, holding his face in his hand, squeezing his cheeks a little, making Will even more confused. "It's been a while, so let me see your face." Nico smiled at him, making Will still look surprised. "Huh? This is not the face I came to know."

"Huh?" Will frowned, confused.

"Maybe I forgot because it's been so long?" Nico continued the teasing. "When I imagined you every night while I was in prison, Will Solace was truly handsome. Now that I look at you, that's not right. You're only a little bit handsome." He emphasized by pulling his fingers together.

"CEO... you are kind of old." Will counter-attacked, pulling Nico's hand off his face and making him frown. "You've aged one year by yourself, so you look a little old." Nico's only reaction was to chuckle. "I'm serious!" Will emphasized, serious, erasing Nico's smile.

However, that was enough for Will to break character and laugh at him.

"Wow, touche." Nico spoke, finally catching the joke.

"What exactly happened during this one year?" Will asked, trying to control his laughter.

"What?" Nico argued but he was smiling at him.

"Let me guess, the keys and the gun were drawn by Dad, right?" Will turned to a little more serious topic.

"That's correct. He also drew this car and these clothes." Nico agreed, gesturing them.

"With what thinking is he drawing these things?" Will wondered. "No, why is he suddenly allowing you to escape?"

"Let's go meet him."

"What?" Will thought he had heard wrong but Nico was too serious.

"He was brought into this world too, since a year ago." Will listened with attention, not missing a detail. "He made me a note, with an address. That's who I met before coming here. I thought it was a trap but the place looks exactly like your childhood home. Zeus Olympia wouldn't know how does it look... The tablet was there... and so was your father."

"My Dad... is here?" Nico nodded and decided to take him there while explaining to him.

"The body returned because the culprit died. But all of the culprit's memories remained entirely within him. And it became worse after coming here. He couldn't bear it because he remembers both memories. His condition is not good. He developed DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder." He turned to Will, serious. "You'll be startled if you see him, that's why I'm telling you in advance. This morning, he escaped from the mental hospital. To get the tablet."

"He stole it from Zeus Olympia?" Nico shook his head.

"He was anxious since it's the replica and it might be disposed of or disappear. He drew another one and hid it inside of the manhwa. Just like the real culprit. It took him a year to get that. After he got out, he saw the news and found out it was my appeal day. He removed my handcuffs."

"Where is he right now?"

"In the safehouse that only your father knows."

* * *

Nico watched as Will rushed into the safehouse, as soon as he recognized it. It had been designed to look like his childhood home.

He followed behind, checking no one was noticing them slipping in.

"Dad." Will called around, checking all the rooms. "Dad." He finally walked into the main room and saw Apollo, all tied up. "Dad! Dad!" Nico looked as Will checked his father critically before turning to him. "Why did you tie him up?"

"He requested me to tie him up." Nico earned a confused look from Will and he couldn't blame him. "Because he said he couldn't restrain himself." Nico saw how it was slowly dawning on Will how dangerous it was.

"Dad." Will mumbled one more time, before resting his forehead on his hands.

"Who is it?" Apollo whispered, finally waking up. Will looked up at him and smiled softly. "Will?"

"It's me, Dad." Will nodded.

"You are alive?"

"I'm alive."

"You came back to life, once again?"

"I'm alive, Dad. I'm perfectly fine. But..." Here, Nico saw Will grabbing the rope knots he had done and patting them. Nico knew Will knew not to undo them but it was heartbreaking when Apollo started to cry at Will. "What is this, Dad? What can we do, Dad?"

No one gave him an answer.

* * *

Will decided to be both helpful and distract himself a little.

So he went to make dinner.

Part of him was nervous. It had been a while since the last time he cooked- or when the hospital allowed him -but he had to distract himself. He worked better when he was focusing on a task and not trying to solve it completely.

He had left Nico speaking with his father. He did insist that he untie his father, seeing how weak he was. Now, he wondered what they were talking about. Shrugging and knowing he will eventually find out, Will grabbed a tray and placed some food for his father.

"How is Dad?" He asked Nico, seeing his father could barely face him. _Is that a tear...?_

"I think he's gotten a little better." Nico replied though it looked like he was crying too. _What...?_

"I made some porridge. Can you eat it, Dad?" He offered him.

"I'll help him." Nico offered himself taking the tray from his hands. Will stayed for a while but seeing how uncomfortable his father looked, he decided to leave to finish his dinner. Not long afterward, Nico came out of the room, the tray in his hands. "He fell asleep."

"Sit down. I'll get you food." Will ordered him, taking the tray from his hands.

"Food?" The way Nico pronounced the word was as if he had never had heard of it or didn't know what it was.

"We should eat too. We didn't have dinner." Will explained, leaving Nico no other option but sit on the table and be served. "Eat." He told him once the last dish was on the table. _Nothing elaborated but it was better than nothing..._

"I'm kind of surprised." Nico said after taking a bite, surprising him.

"What?" Will looked at him from his plate.

"To think about it, it's my first time eating what you cooked. It's alright." Nico pointed out, gesturing the food.

"Really?" Will raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Yeah." Nico insisted, smiling. "Considering you're a busy doctor, this is excellent." _That's true, but..._

"You didn't really mean that, right? I think it's a compliment to comfort me." Will narrowed his eyes at Nico and he relented.

"Half and half?" Nico admitted, smirking a bit.

"Jeez." Will mumbled, earning a chuckle from Nico. "Do it more."

"What?" This time, Nico was the surprised one.

"Whether it be a compliment or a word of comfort, it feels good hearing it from picky Nico di Angelo." He teased him but Nico took it very seriously as he put his fork down and stared at him.

"Okay. Compliments..." Nico kept staring at him up and down and Will looked impatient.

"There is nothing to compliment?"

"I'm thinking about it." Nico kept looking for a while. "You have long hair." Will touched his blonde hair out of instinct. Sure, it was passing his ears but it wasn't that long... _Or is it long for men...?_ "You have a pale face." _I work indoors, thank you very much..._

"Do you think those are compliments?" Will questioned him, serious.

"You are on the tall-side." Nico continued after chuckling. "Do you have a high nose?" That last one sounded like doubt and Will decided to stop this.

"Are those compliments? That's describing the facts." Will insisted and looked like Nico wanted to give a last try.

"Your ears are attached in the proper place." Will raised an eyebrow. This was going nowhere. "It's not easy things to do." Nico recognized but at least managed a small smile from him. "It's nice to see you smile." That confused Will a little. "It's been a year since we've seen each other, smile often." Nodding, Will decided to ask about something.

"What did you talk about with my dad? Just a little while ago, when I was cooking." Nico acknowledged his question but went back to eating.

"No comment."

"You're not going to tell me?" _Well, that's a surprise..._

"After we finish eating, I'll do the dishes." Nico changed the subject and Will nodded before asking himself the question.

Did he really want to know?


	45. Episode 15, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Episode 15: Part 3**

While doing the promised dishes, Nico couldn't keep thinking about the recent conversation with Apollo.

_~FLASHBACK~_

_Nico was keeping Apollo while Will was cooking and apparently, he had something to tell him._

_"In any case, you and I... can't go together." Apollo had surprised him uttering those words._

_"Pardon?" Nico asked him, confused._

_"If you are a happy ending, I'm a sad ending." Apollo told him, not even looking at him. "If I'm a happy ending, you'll be a sad ending." Nico said nothing, letting him talk. "Look at this hand. It's normal, right?" It was indeed a normal hand but that was not the normal Apollo was talking and Nico knew it. "Why do you think it's so normal? It's because I killed a person." Nico showed his surprise but it was minimum. "This morning, I killed a nurse and escaped. That's why I'm in one piece. You understand?" Nico kept staring at him in silence. "Now, I- I can't go back. If I stop doing bad things, I'll become extinct." Apollo reasoned to him, showing his sorrow. "Even if I go back, I can't live. I'm too tarnished. I killed dozens of people with these hands. I possess all the memories. I killed a person with my own hands too. This morning." What Nico found more surprising of all was the easiness and conviction of his words._

_He was mentally prepared for this._

_"I will not get out of here." Apollo insisted. "I can't go out. How could I? While looking at Will's face will I be able to live?" His face finally showed some emotion. He was ashamed. "My life has already ended... a year ago." Nico didn't know what to say, especially when he asked for his hand. "Before the happy ending, please let me die here. I ask of you." _What?!_ "Inside the manhwa, bury me."_

_"How could you say those-" He couldn't even finish his deny. "I can't do that."_

_"Do as I say." Apollo begged him._

_"I can't." Nico recognized._

_"Please do as I say." Apollo told him one more time._

_"It's absolutely impossible. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."_

_~FLASHBACK~_

There had to be a way out.

But he needed it now.

* * *

While all this was happening, Zeus Olympia was returning to the warehouse.

He had a new guest his men had been taken care of. As soon as he walked in, his full attention to the man brutally beaten on the chair.

"Where is Nico di Angelo?" He asked the beaten and bleeding figure of Percy Jackson.

"It seems like he really doesn't know." One of his men that was in the room replied, honestly. "There has been no response even after the medication."

"What about Will Solace?" Zeus insisted on Percy. But Percy was in no condition to even realize he was being talked to. Not that Zeus cared. "Cellphone." He demanded to his men who handed it to him. "How do you contact Nico di Angelo?" He showed him the cellphone and, when got no reply, smacked him across the face, more blood coming out of his mouth.

He will get it eventually.

* * *

Nico was still trying to solve his dilemma when his phone received a message.

_Who... Percy._ Imagining his cousin wanted to warn him about something, he read the text, only to get the surprise of his life.

_'Nico di Angelo, don't we have things left to talk about? Call Percy Jackson. Right now.'_

_Zeus..._ Nico connected the dots immediately and took advantage that Will was coming out of his father's room to tell him. Though he beat him to talk first.

"Are you going somewhere?" Will sounded confused as to why he'd go out.

"I will go make a call." Nico admitted to him. "It's dangerous to be tracked down so lock the doors and stay here." He warned him before leaving the house and Will, who had more questions than answers.

Once out of the house, Nico got into the car and drove a considerable distance between him and the safehouse before making the call.

_"Hello."_ Percy's voice answered the phone and he sounded out of air.

"Cousin? Where are you?" Nico asked him, worried. However, another voice took over for Percy.

_"Hello? It's been a long time."_ Nico closed his eyes as soon as he recognized Zeus' voice over the phone.

"What on earth are you doing now?" He tried to level his voice and sound calm though he was raging in anger. "Aren't you a presidential candidate? A trashy gangster who holds a civilian hostage plans on being president? Is the USA going mad?"

_"It is true that the country is going mad."_ Zeus agreed with him. _"A criminal condemned to capital punishment proudly escaped from the court and is roaming around the streets. "In order to live, I caught one hostage. I was afraid you'll stick a needle into my neck." _He kept talking._ "It's obvious that you'll attack me in revenge. I need to live but there's no way. Hey, Nico di Angelo. Don't do anything foolish. If you do anything to me then your friend would die first." _He threatened him and Nico knew he was serious about it. _"I shouldn't have turned you over to the police a year ago." _Zeus regretted._ "I let you live because I thought you really didn't have it. But you had it. Come here. You know the place where we met last time, right? We have things left to talk about. You didn't answer my questions back then. We should start talking about that. You... Will Solace, Orcus- No. Is it Apollo Solace? And that object, I am curious about so many things. Come until 11. There's only one hour left. Come with the tablet. If you're late for even one minute, you know what will happen, right?"_

With that, the call was over.

* * *

Will had become impatient since Nico left.

Knowing that pacing around wouldn't help, he couldn't think of anything else to do until he saw the tablet. He decided to use both his time and the tablet wisely and began drawing.

"What are you doing?" Apollo mumbled after a while, evidently, waking up.

"You're awake?" Will checked when he heard him talking.

"What are you doing?" Apollo repeated, looking at him.

"I want to draw before that person comes." Will answered him before going back to the tablet.

"What drawing?" Apollo insisted but Will gave him a side answer.

"Because I want to get out of here fast. This place is hell, Dad." He recognized, still drawing. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible. "In the last episode, there was a scene of Zeus Olympia torturing Nico. I want to draw that scene into the CCTV, and I think if that clip is reported to the police then this would get resolved quickly." Will explained his reasoning. "First we need to put Zeus Olympia in prison so that we can have a happy ending."

He continued to draw, ignoring that his father wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Nico returned quickly to the safe house only to find a problem with himself.

His hand was disappearing... again.

_Is because I'm not acting like a hero again...?_ He tried not to think about that and he never imagined that, inside the safehouse, would have the perfect excuse for it.

"Die! Die!" The shouts evidently came from Apollo but Nico doubted that he was himself at the moment. He rushed into the house and to the room not without hearing Will scream first.

"Dad!" The image of Will being choked by his own father on the floor only made him snap back into action, grabbing Apollo's hand and pulling them away from Will's neck. That action alone was enough to get Apollo on his back and Nico straddled him to contain him while his hands kept Apollo's at his chest.

"Apollo!" Nico shouted at him to make him react but Apollo- more accurate would be to say that _Orcus_ -struggled against him before glancing at Will, who had slid away, coughing and holding his neck. "Are you alright?" It was obvious Will was in shock because he only stared at him, incredulous of what had happened. Nico kept pressing Apollo against the floor until he relented a bit and passed out. "Pass me the rope, Will." He asked, panting. He hated doing this but had to.

Nico tied Apollo's hands and dragged him to bed, where he tied the rest of the rope as tension. It didn't take long for Apollo to notice that he was tied up again.

"What did I do?" Nico noticed how his father's first words almost made him cry, so he placed a hand on his shoulder for support.

"You didn't do anything." Will lied to him. _Well, technically is not a lie since it was Orcus and not Apollo..._

"Why is your neck like that?" Apollo noticed the redness on Will's neck even when he tried to hide it. "I did something to you, right?" It was heartbreaking seeing the scene but Nico knew he was there for moral support only.

"No, you didn't." Will insisted.

"I told you." Apollo spoke and Nico knew he was talking to him. "I am a monster. Do as I say. Please." He begged him. Nico refused to answer, especially in front of Will but Will was more preoccupied with his father.

"Dad, your hand..."

Apollo was disappearing.

* * *

Nico knew he was running out of time.

His hand was flickering again but this time, he didn't have time to hide it from Will.

"What's wrong with you?" He walked to him and held his hand in his. "Why is your hand-? I thought you said it was alright while you were in prison?" He recalled and Nico nodded, serious.

"I didn't fulfill my punishment then escaped and left my friend who is about to die."

"Who... is dying?" Will wanted to know and Nico saw no other way.

"My cousin Percy has been kidnapped by Zeus Olympia." Nico told him, surprising him. "He threatened me to bring the tablet. There are 40 minutes to his deadline. And also..." Did he dare to say it...? "Your father... killed a person."

"What did you say?" Will repeated, properly shocked.

"The police are coming here right now." Nico explained to him. "They will find this house soon." Nico could _see_ Will's mind moving to search for an answer, so Nico sat him down to discuss the situation.

"I was drawing a video of Zeus Olympia. Let's hand that over to the police first." He suggested. "We can distribute it through email. And let's report the place where Percy is held. He can get caught there. After that-"

"Not now." Nico interrupted him.

"Why?"

"If it becomes the happy ending like that, you father will cease to exist."

"What did you say?" Evidently, that was not the reason Will expected to hear.

"My happy ending is the sad ending for the culprit." Nico elaborated, clearly shocking Will. "So the problem right now is when it ends, whatever the ending is, your father and me... one of us will not be by your side." Properly scared, Nico gave the final blow. "One will either die or disappear."

"Alright, new plan." Despite the shock, Nico was surprised by Will's acting. Not surprising, he was a doctor. "If they're coming we either leave or block the entrance."

"Too late for leaving. But eliminating the entrance is an option." Without waiting for approval, Will headed back to the master room and Nico didn't need to be a genius to know what he was doing. Quickly, the windows and outside doors became blocked... as if they had never existed. "We haven't missed a spot?"

"No." Nico acknowledged before asking him something. "Can we talk?"

"Of course." Then, Nico grabbed his hand and took him back to the dining room and sat him there before taking the opposite seat. "What about it?"

"We can't hold out too long. They will somehow find a way to tear down and enter." Nico began, seriously. "And we only have thirty minutes left to save my cousin." He gently grabbed his hand again and kept it between his. "Now we must decide what kind of ending is it going to be."

"What kind of ending?" Will repeated and to his immense surprise, Nico pulled out his ring, placing it on the table, before doing the same to his. "Why are you doing this? What are you doing? Why did you take off the rings?" Will ranted, not sure he followed. "What are you trying to do?" Nico simply kept staring at him.

"For a son to die in order for a father to avoid being extinct, that's too cruel. That shouldn't happen. We divorce. You are free now. And you are safe regardless of the ending." Now, it was Will's turn to stare at him. "You make the decision, from now on, what kind of ending you want to create."

"And what about you?" Will managed to ask.

"I will follow your decision."


	46. Final Episode, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Final Episode: Part 1**

_Previously..._

_"I will follow your decision."_

Will stared at Nico for a long second before grabbing his ring from the table and put it on.

"With whose permission are you divorcing me?" He asked him, trying to sound tough. "Why would you say such nonsense?" He grabbed Nico's ring and looked at it before placing it on his finger, holding his hand. "One of us disappearing... There's no ending like that. Why should it be that way? We can all be together." He continued.

"So you would like to live here like this for a lifetime?" Nico checked, unsure of what the answer may be.

"Us three... We can live." Will nodded, accepting it. _Wouldn't be so bad..._

"How could we live together?" Nico insisted. "I must be imprisoned and the same goes for your father. Both your father and I will probably spend our lives in prison."

"If you behave as a model prisoner, your sentence could be reduced." Will argued with him, seriously.

"But still, we can't be happy here." Nico kept insisting. It was obvious to Will he would not give up on proving his point. "We will spend our lifetimes meeting in the visitation room."

"We can continue to see each other in the visitation room." Will was as stubborn as Nico. "Don't you think that better than not being able to see each other forever? What's wrong with that?"

"Such an ordinary ending is impossible." Nico concluded, sighing.

"It is possible!" _Like Hell, I'll give up!_ "Both Dad and you must stay by my side. I cannot even imagine any other alternative. We are just going to live until we get sick or old and die. Just like the other people. Just as the lives of ordinary people are. You told me to make the decision, I _have made_ that decision."

It was obvious that Nico wanted to continue to argue about it but he stopped when he heard some police sirens getting closer.

"Draw the back door that we'll escape through and a getaway car too." Nico asked him, sighing a bit. "If we can't make a conclusive ending immediately, we should get out of here for now."

And Will did so.

* * *

"Didn't you say so back then..." Nico pulled out Will from his thoughts. He was driving and Will was on the back seat with Apollo slept on his shoulder. "...that I, as a husband, never once said 'I love you'?"

_How did he remember that...?_

"I love you."

_And you were the one that wanted to keep me away..._

They made it to a small hotel and rented a room. Will got help from Nico to carry his father to the room and, as soon as they set him on the bed, they tied him up. Will was hurt just by doing so but he had no other option.

It could be a danger to himself and them.

"I get Percy out, so stay here for now." Nico told Will when they were settled down. Will wanted to argue very much but knew that Nico wouldn't be with a clean conscience if he left his cousin die like that.

"Be careful." Will asked him and Nico nodded, leaving the room and a worried Will behind.

* * *

Soon, Nico arrived to where Zeus Olympia was holding hostage Percy.

He could see how Zeus was getting a tad paranoid as he had guards stationed on the door of the storage. He had called in advance to the rest of their team, mainly Frank and Jason- he didn't want anyone else involved. He parked the car behind theirs and got out, they instantly doing the same to greet him.

"CEO, what happened? The police were looking for you." Frank asked him, worried.

"Why is Percy here again?" Jason wondered, looking at the heavily secured area.

"Wait here." Nico told them and walked confidently to the storage. The guards immediately recognized him.

"Nico di Angelo has arrived." One of them announced through a microphone. "Where is the tablet?" He suddenly demanded. It was obvious that someone else was asking.

"Give me proof my cousin is fine." Nico counter attacked them, seriously and trying to sound confident. The guard repeated that and they only had to wait a few minutes when the front door finally opened and another two guard walked out with a bloody Percy.

"Cousin. Cousin!" Percy barely could register who was calling him, much less open his eyes. The words coming out of Nico's mouth mobilized both Frank and Jason who were as shocked as Nico at Percy's state. "Cousin... Go straight to the hospital." He ordered Jason.

"OK." Jason replied, grabbing one side of Percy while Frank grabbed the other one, carrying him to their car.

"What about you...?" Frank wanted to know but Nico wordlessly- and with an obvious glare -walked into the storage, ready to face Zeus. He found Zeus sitting on a chair, as if he had no care in the world, which infuriated Nico.

"What about the tablet?" Zeus repeated, like all his minions before

"I don't have it." Nico admitted, serious. Zeus snorted at him but Nico didn't care, taking out a flash drive from his pocket. "Instead, I'll give you this." He showed the flash drive to him, dropping it on the table. "Starting with you torturing me, the video footage in here is very comprehensive. Go confirm it." He dared Zeus. "I won't send it to the police immediately. But if you touch one of my people once more, I won't just stand for it." He promised to him, trying not to show how angry he was. "Because there are countless copies." It looked like Zeus was grasping the situation. "You know that just grilling me won't solve the problem either. And stop searching for the tablet. If you don't want really to have a syringe stuck into your neck." He finally threatened him, ready to leave.

"Hey, but..." Zeus stopped him, sounding extremely casual for the situation. "By the way, you said that you needed to die for it to be the end."

"What?" Nico looked at him, slightly confused.

All of the sudden, Zeus had pulled out a gun and shot him on the shoulder.

The shock and the impact of the projectile made Nico stumble and fall on the floor.

"What are you going to do?" One of Zeus' men asked him when their boss walked slowly to Nico and pointed the gun at his face. Evidently, they didn't understand what was happening.

"I heard a strange story while waiting for you." Zeus started. "Two worlds." Nico sighed and closed his eyes, finally understanding what was happening. "Go outside." Zeus told his men who stayed in their place, confused. "Didn't you hear? Stay outside." Zeus repeated, pointing the gun at them. The men nodded and left the room before Zeus locked it from inside. "Percy Jackson heard from you and said some nonsense." Zeus began again to tell Nico, who tried to hide his emotions. "The fact that you are the main character of a manhwa and I am the antagonist."

_I thought you were the bad guy from the beginning..._

"He said the guy who drew the manhwa with the tablet turned it off? The manhwa drew by Apollo Solace. I was wondering what kind of crazy nonsense that was." Zeus recognized, laughing to himself. "But it turns out to be true. The things that happened here a year ago everything has been so strange. How do you think I'm feeling now?" He asked him as if waited for a real answer.

_I'll bite... how are you feeling right now...?_ Nico hated not to have the strength to mock him on his face.

"Is the election important now when there's another world out there. I was curious... Why does a person who comes and disappears at his will all of a sudden, can't move and can't run away from here. And also why he continued to rot in jail. Why is that? Why? Why could it be? Why?" Zeus insisted, still pointing the gun at Nico. "I thought it was because the tablet was gone. I thought it was because it was the last episode. But that bastard spilled it all out after taking the medication, that it was the last episode."

_You drugged my cousin, you sick bastard..._

"That's why... whether the main character or the antagonist dies, one of them needs to die for it to end. That way I can go into the other world." He reasoned and Nico could see the implication of his words. "There is at least one fact." He acknowledged, pressing the gun to his chin. "There is another world out there. Thanks to you, I was able to go there and confirm it. And so you must die." Zeus concluded. Nico let him talk so he wouldn't notice how he was moving one of the nearby chairs with his feet. "Percy Jackson doesn't believe you can be killed and that it is impossible to catch you. Right..." He took some steps back for what Nico believed to be a dramatic gesture and Nico would take advantage of that. "You are not needed anymore. I will go and confirm the truth."

The second that Zeus turned to fire the gun at him again, Nico used his feet to throw the chair at him. The chair itself wouldn't hurt him but it would serve as distraction enough to let him get up and get close to him without giving him time to shoot again. Immediately, Nico grabbed Zeus' gun arm and pointed it far from him with his other hand was holding Zeus' neck.

Zeus immediately struck back and pushed Nico over the table, pressing on the shoulder he had shot. That made Nico shout out in pain but he kept fighting him until both of them were on the floor again, Nico still trying to get the gun out of reach. During the fight, shouts from the other side of the door could be heard but were promptly ignored.

The struggle between Nico and Zeus was short afterward. Nico took possession of the gun and waited for Zeus' henchmen to walk in. As soon as they were on range, Nico shot them both, leaving the storage limbing. He found two more henchmen rushing to the other's aid but Nico quickly shot the first one and knocked out cold the second one when he realized there were no more bullets in the magazine.

He immediately got out of there.

* * *

Meanwhile, Percy had recovered some of his conscious and was scolding the rest of his family while returning to the storage.

For someone who had been beaten up and tortured recently, Percy had been fuming when he heard his cousin had walked in without backup.

"You bastards, are you crazy? How could you let him go in alone?"

"He said to go to the hospital so I thought he was just going to talk." Frank admitted to him. Jason was just driving, scared to admit his older cousin was scary.

"Oh!" Jason mumbled, just when they were about to arrive. "CEO is out." He pointed out, seeing how Nico was climbing with difficulty to his car.

"Hurry and go." Percy told them but as soon as he saw a henchmen coming out the storage to chase him, he changed his plans. "There! Stop!" Immediately, Jason stopped the car and got out with Frank to stop the henchmen and give Nico some distance time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Will knew something was wrong.

The whole 'waiting until Nico returned' was driving him crazy. He couldn't do much but to look after his father. It was doing that when he noticed that Apollo's hands stopped fading. He feared something bad had happened to Nico but he didn't dare to call him in case someone else answered the phone.

So, when the phone rang, it was a relief.

"Hello?"

_"Mr. Solace?"_

"Percy? What happened? Were you released?" Will bombed him with questions.

_"Yes. I am alive."_ Will sighed, happy about it but still worried.

"That's a relief. CEO di Angelo..."

_"CEO di Angelo?"_ Percy spoke at the same time, triggering the alarm in Will.

"Aren't you together?"

_"No. I saw him escape but I can't contact him."_ Percy explained to him.

"Where did he go?"

_"We are looking for him. First, it is sure that he escaped."_ He assured him. _"Could you send me the address there? I will... send the guys there."_

"Yes." Will agreed and hung up, texting him the address with only one thought in mind.

_Nico, where are you...?_


	47. Final Episode, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Final Episode: Part 2**

After telling Percy where he was, Will decided to call Nico.

The first try told him the phone was out of reach. He tried a few more times, all with the same result, leaving him no option other than to wait for Nico to call him. Which made him pace around the room, nervously.

Finally, what seemed like an eternity, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Will answered the phone, worry lacing his voice.

_"Can you... please come and get me?"_ Nico's tired voice came from the other side and Will allowed himself to breathe.

"Where are you?" Will asked him.

_"I ran out of gas... I can't go."_ Nico explained, totally ignoring the question.

"Where are you right now? Why are you not answering your phone?" Will scolded him a bit.

_"I fell asleep for a little."_

"You fell asleep?" _How hurt is he...?_ "Nico, where are you?" Will insisted, getting nervous.

_"I don't know either."_ Nico's voice came low and with long deep breaths in between. _"I'm in front of a bus stop."_

"How hurt are you?"

_"A little bit."_

"Which bus stop? I will go and get you. Give me the name." Will demanded, grabbing his things, ready to leave.

_"I can't see well... I will try again-"_ Suddenly, the call finished, leaving Will more worried that at the beginning.

"Hello?" He spoke, but no answer came. Glancing at the sleeping Apollo, Will took a decision so he grabbed the stylus pen and began to draw as quick as he could. Immediately, a new car was parked by the entrance, waiting for him, along with a new set of keys next to his phone. Knowing that Percy and his team would arrive soon, Will gave his father a last glance before leaving the hotel.

"Percy?" He called him as soon as he answered. "I just spoke to Nico."

_"You spoke to him?"_ Percy checked, relief leaving his voice.

"Yes, he just contacted me and I think he can't drive." Will explained to him. "I still don't know where he is. When are the guards coming?"

_"We're nearby."_

"I leave Dad in your care, Percy." And with that, Will hung up, getting in the car.

He had to find Nico and soon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nico had trouble walking.

Because of the blood loss, he had fallen asleep and now, thanks to the physical effort he was doing, he was short of breath and limping. Reaching the bus stop to let Will know was becoming an impossible task but he kept going until he sat by the curb next to it. With his last strength, he called Will.

_"Hello?"_

"It's... Bainbridge Av. and E204 St... bus stop." Nico managed to say.

_"Wait. I'm heading there now."_ Will reassured him before hanging up.

Nico really feared Will would never arrive in time.

* * *

As soon as Will hung up on Nico, he called Percy.

"I have an address. Bainbridge Av. and E204 St. bus stop. I think I will arrive first." Will told him, not even waiting for a greeting. "We can't go to the emergency room so what should I do?"

_"I will call a physician."_ Percy replied, as nervous as he was.

"Please send him right away." Will begged him, finishing the call.

~oOo~

Nico immediately called Will again.

_"Hello?"_

"Why aren't you coming?" Nico whispered on the phone, weak.

_"I am on my way but it's farther than I thought."_ Will promised him.

"I am waiting."

_"I am almost there."_

"The last chapter..." Nico began, gently. "It seems I cannot make it last for 50 years. It wasn't as expected. That it would be such a boring ending to anyone who would see it." He chuckled dryly. "Hurry up..." He begged him. "Because I want to see you."

_"I'm on my way."_ Will sounded choked up. _"I'm coming. I'm on my way now. Please don't lose consciousness-"_

Sadly, Nico couldn't hear Will's petition before losing consciousness.

* * *

Will stepped on the accelerator when Nico stopped replying to him.

He soon reached E204St. and saw him on the other side of the road. He stopped the car on the corner and got out of it. One thing that was on the back of his head was the wonder of why no one had stopped to help him, as it was a very transited street. Cars passed by continuously but that didn't register on his mind at the moment.

All he cared about was the man passed out on the opposite side of the street.

"I'm here!" He began screaming over the loud cars. Will saw Nico lifting his head. Even in the darkness, he could see the blood that stained the side of his face. "Are you alright?!" He screamed again at him but Nico simply limited himself to smirk at him before his head started to nod off and his eyes closed... to ultimately pass out on the curb.

Will watched in disbelief how the words '**The End**' began to form next to Nico. He hurried to cross the crowded street and seemed to be close to reaching him...

...when a dump truck drove between them, stopping him from move on.

Seconds later, the truck had become a bus.

Seconds later, the dark had become light.

Seconds later, Will was back in the real world.

Standing in the middle of the street, alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the real world, Kayla was worrying a lot.

"Seriously." She mumbled to herself, walking into Apollo's house. "How could three of them not call?" She complained to no one before trying one more time while searching the rooms. "Seriously." She repeated before the unusual- or at least, _something_ unusual -happened.

The tablet that was on top of Apollo's desk disappeared under her eyes.

Blinking several times, she immediately sat down on her desk and checked the manhwa. She watched as Nico, Will, and Apollo escaped the police.

How Zeus shot Nico, hurting him badly.

And how close were Will and Nico to reunite after the last situation.

Immediately, she knew where to find one of them.

She jumped back into her car and drove to the last place the manhwa showed. And on the curb, with his head down, was Will. She immediately parked and got out only to be surprised- or maybe not -by Will crying.

She didn't need to ask if he was alright.

She just stayed there for her Big Bro.

* * *

Asclepius hadn't won his nickname of '_Mad Dog_' for nothing.

Not that he knew he had that nickname.

"Hey! Where is Will Solace?" He questioned Lee, who just happened to cross his way.

"He's in the ER now." Lee replied, not sure what was happening.

"ER? When he's done tell him to come to my office right away! Okay?" Asclepius demanded which prompted a correction from Lee.

"No, Will got taken to the ER."

"What?"

"He collapsed and came to the ER. We just got the call." Lee explained to his mentor.

"Will Solace collapsed? Why?" Asclepius wondered before shaking his head. "I'll ask him myself." With that, he left Lee standing in the hallway, wondering if his mentor couldn't be any weirder. Soon, Asclepius arrived at the ER and immediately spotted Will's bed, who was doing his best to hide his face. "Hey." He greeted his student, clearly concern over his state. "Why are you crying? You... did something happen?"

It was obvious by Will's negative to answer and his state that this was not the time to complain about why the manhwa ended as it did.

* * *

After carrying Will to the ER, Kayla was in her own set of tears.

She didn't push Will into explaining what had happened but she could discover much by the manhwa and how Will reacted. However, and as much as she would like to have a tear festival with her Big Bro, Kayla had to focus on finding Apollo. So she drove to the last place he was, according to the manhwa.

"Welcome." The front desk manager of the hotel greeted her.

"Excuse me. Have you seen a man wearing a hospital gown roaming around here?" Kayla knew the question was weird and could read the manager's face.

"Hospital gown?" The manager repeated.

"Yes. Here. It's this person." She showed him a picture of Apollo. "He's in this building for sure. Have you not seen him around?"

"I don't think I've seen him. Is he a dementia patient?" The manager asked, also worried.

"It's not dementia but he came out from a psychiatric hospital." Kayla explained to him. "Right now, he's not in his right mind as he's roaming around. I must find him fast. Help me. He should be in this building. Help me." She begged him, close to tears.

"He didn't come here." The manager assured her, collapsing all her hopes.

* * *

At the hospital, Will had finally managed to take a deep breath.

But that didn't last long.

As soon as he saw his wedding ring disappear from his finger, he knew it was over.

* * *

Kayla returned to the hospital to check on Will when she was stopped by Asclepius.

"Oh, wait. I was curious about something, good thing I met you." Asclepius told her, making her look at him, tiredly. "'**W**'... is that really the end?" Kayla closed her eyes to control herself. "No, why not kill the antagonist but kill the main character?"

"**_Please, stop!_**" Kayla began shouting at him. "**_Shut that mouth of yours!_**" It was obvious Asclepius didn't expect that reaction because he was cowering in fear. "**_I might just take out that tongue of yours!_**" Kayla glared at him before leaving him standing on the hallway, all cower up. _I just hope he learns this time..._ She headed to Will's bed and stood there, a bit awkward. "Big Bro."

"What about Dad?" Will asked, not even looking at her.

"He's not in the hotel." She told him. "The manhwa has ended so he should come back to the same place as you. But then, no one has seen him roaming around. I don't know what's going on..." She acknowledged to him. Apparently, not knowing was not enough for Will because he pulled out the saline solution of his arm and sat up. "Why? Why? Big Bro, why? Where are you going?" Kayla questioned him but Will was already up and leaving, leaving no option but to follow him. "Big Bro."

"Take me home, Kayla." Will ordered her. Kayla sighed and did as told, knowing exactly what he was looking for. She let him walk into the house, following at a distance until he reached his father's room.

"Big Bro, the tablet is not here." She said. "As soon as the manhwa ended it disappeared. That's so wrong." She tsked softly before continuing. "And it was a copy from a drawing. And even if it's here, it can't be used. You know that it's the end once it ended. Now, it's really the end." She lamented herself.

This time, she couldn't imagine what was Will going through.

* * *

Will refused to accept his new reality.

That the manhwa, '**W**', has ended it's 7 years run in September 2019.

He kept searching for his father, creating posters with his and Kayla's number in case someone had seen him.

He kept passing by the crossroad of Bainbridge Av. and E204 St. every day, hoping that something would change any time.

But nothing happened so far.

Kayla dealt with the aftermath of the manhwa's ending. Reporters wanted explanations about it but Apollo was not there to answer them. In fact, Apollo never returned after the ending of the manhwa.

Despite the sad ending, the manhwa kept popular between readers. The last compilation of chapters sold very quickly. Fans shared their thoughts about not finding the ending weird.

They assumed, since it was a sad story, it would have a sad ending.

However... no one, not even Will, knew that it would not be the case.


	48. Final Episode, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan. I don't own the plot, it belongs to MBC. I just joined them for fun.

* * *

**Final Episode: Part 3**

Apollo had woken up from his slumber and was now struggling to get free.

He barely noticed that Jason had arrived to the room to look after him.

"Yes, cousin. I just arrived." Jason called Percy to tell him. "His condition seems serious... And also, I heard this... I think the CEO was shot." Evidently, he received a shocking reply because he elaborated. "Zeus Olympia shot him. I didn't know earlier." However, that conversation was enough to catch Apollo's attention and he stopped struggling. "I think he bled a lot. What should I do?"

"Nico di Angelo was shot by Zeus Olympia?" Apollo asked Jason weakly, who looked at him, before he repeated. "He got shot by Zeus Olympia?"

"Yes."

"Where is Nico di Angelo?" Apollo continued under the mistrust look of Jason.

"We don't know. We're still looking for him."

"That's Percy Jackson, right? Let me speak to him." Apollo demanded. "Hurry and give it to me." Jason looked unsure but placed his phone on Apollo's ear. "Tell him to untie me."

_"You're asking to untie the ropes?"_ Percy's disbelief could be heard by miles.

"Untie it now." Apollo said again but Percy was not one to follow his order that quick.

_"Will Solace strictly warned us not to."_

"Untie it please." Apollo insisted.

_"I can't. If you need something ask Jason to do it."_ Percy denied his request.

"I heard you also heard something." Apollo tried one last trick. "If we know the location then it would be faster with the tablet. Untie me. Untie me please." It seemed like his last trick worked because soon Apollo was on the tablet, drawing and searching for Nico, under the careful watch of Jason.

Poor Jason didn't expect the stabbing of a needle on his neck for his gratitude.

* * *

**~WARNING~** This part contains _almost_ detailed self-harm actions.

At the same time, Zeus Olympia arrived to his office after his last encounter with Nico di Angelo.

"Are you crazy!" He shouted to his people over the phone, caring little if anyone listened to him. "You crazy dumbass! You were beaten up by a person who was shot! Kill him right now! No need to drag him here! So if you see him just kill him right on sight!"

His assistant, Ganymedes, thought this was too much.

"Assemblyman, you can't be like this." He tried to reason with him. "What are you trying to do that you are making things this big? You could have just handed things over to the police, why must you do this? He can be arrested now at any time." His loyalty was rewarded by being grabbed by the neck of his clothes, almost manhandling him.

"When is there going to be such an arrest? Do you know when?" Zeus had obviously lost all reason. "He may be searching for me right now too. What's the use of doing anything because I'm sitting and accepting my date of death. The file that Nico di Angelo gave. If tomorrow that is not the only one, it's the end. How would you stop that!" He finished by throwing him on the floor. "Get out! Get out, you bastard!" He ordered him, leaving Ganymedes no option but to leave his boss alone.

But Zeus didn't get the solitude he was asking as his secretary soon walked in with a phone in hand.

"That..."

"What is it?" He didn't even let her begin.

"It's a person named Apollo Solace." The woman started again.

"Who?"

"He said you would answer after hearing his name." It took him a couple of seconds to realize what she had said before he became interested and took the phone from her. She immediately took it as her cue and left.

"Hello."

_"It's me."_

"Apollo Solace?" He checked.

_"Right. Good thing you're in your office."_

"You're the Apollo Solace that I saw in the hospital?"

_"Right. The one that made you. I made you... as an antagonist."_ For Zeus, Apollo's voice was very calm and he could hear he was doing something but couldn't figure out what. _"But what happened that it came to this? At the very least, you aren't someone to get blood on your hands. Did you shoot the gun?"_

"How are you here?" Zeus questioned him, a bit of fear lacing his tone. "You, back then-"

_"Did you shoot Nico di Angelo because you wanted to find me?"_ Apollo interrupted him. _"I was here. Ever since a year ago."_ Suddenly, the loud click of the door locking itself was heard and Zeus watched as a gun appeared on his free hand.

"What is this?" He wanted to know.

_"You too, do you want to know the reason for your existence? Since there is a lot you want to know, you gradually came out more. Because you can't stop the greed of wanting to know. Everyone was the same. That's why I became this way."_ While Apollo talked, Zeus tried to get the gun out of his hand... only to find out he couldn't. _"But then, you can't be like that. You're someone who wanted to be a president. If you know all of the secrets then what would happen to this world? And a bad person like you at that. That's something so dangerous."_ By now, Zeus had figured Apollo's plan and he was trembling like a leaf. _"Let's go together, you and I. I failed everything, but you are the one thing I must dispose of before I go."_ Slowly, Zeus' arm was getting closer to his forehead and against his will.

"No. Save me." Zeus begged before shouting. "Hey! Is anyone-?" His words were muffled by tape that appeared on his mouth.

This was his own end now.

**~WARNING OVER~**

* * *

Apollo knew it was time to put his affairs in order.

He made a confession and a recording of Zeus Olympia appear to every police officer in the city, as well as a physical one on Zeus' desk, along with his last will. Afterward, he drew a new car, a letter, and a picture, leaving the latter two with a still passed out Jason- he never meant to kill him -before making a phone call.

_"Hello?"_ Percy answered the phone.

"Has Will gone to Nico di Angelo?" He asked him.

_"Yes."_

"Where is that place? Tell me the location. My son... I want to see him for the last time." He begged Percy, who relented and gave him the address Will had given him. Apollo hopped in the car and drove to the location. He feared he would never make it in time, he was fading away very quickly. Thankfully, he arrived just in time to see Will arriving on the other side of the road. _Will..._ "I love you... my son..." A small smile graced his lips, happy to see his son one last time. "Goodbye."

Apollo accepted his destiny as the sad end, sacrificing his for his son's happy ending.

* * *

Percy ignored why Will hadn't called him with news of Nico.

Had he arrived on time?

"Is it right there?" He pointed at the sidewalk when he saw a man laying on the curb. Frank stopped the car and both men jumped out of it. "Nico. Nico!" Percy immediately recognized him while Frank called 911.

The ambulance arrived very fast and soon, Nico was on a stretcher and Percy was driving on the back of the ambulance with him, Frank following them from the car.

"Nico. Nico." Percy called him, holding his hand. Nico opened his eyes slowly at his voice and turned to see him. "How are you feeling? I thought you were dead." Percy couldn't help himself to scold his younger cousin.

"Will..." Nico mumbled behind the oxygen mask and Percy hated to give bad news.

"He's not here. I couldn't find him." He explained and to his surprise, Nico sighed in relief as if he knew what had happened.

Nothing really mattered now for Percy.

His priority would be getting his cousin in the hospital.

* * *

_"The video file of the candidate Olympia kidnapping and torturing Mr. Nico di Angelo, the contents of the call record of the dead suspected murderer Orcus, and the recording files of instructing the gangster to murder Mr. Nico di Angelo spread quickly on the Internet. The police revealed that they are tracing the route. After the shocking news of the candidate Zeus Olympia's suicide-"_

* * *

The last person Nico expected to visit him in prison was Reyna.

However, he greeted her with a smile.

"Hey, Reyna!" He called her when he noticed she was distracted. She looked shocked but soon returned to her old self.

"Are you okay? What about a gunshot wound?"

"I've come back from the dead but after I became okay, they sent me here right away." Nico joked a little about it.

"Since you are cleared from the murder charge, the rest of the sentence won't be much." Reyna pointed out before she talked about what was really bothering her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For doubting you and cutting off contact with you." She explained, guilt showing off.

"If it were me, I'll be suspicious like that too. Since I put a show that I died." Nico said to her. "I was glad that you were suspicious and cut off contact with me." That really shocked Reyna.

"What are you talking about?"

"For showing me the proof that you can live another life by yourself."

That's all Nico needed from her.

* * *

A few weeks later, Nico received a message from Percy in the shape of a letter and a book.

_In the end, I couldn't find Apollo Solace. He said he'll go and meet his son, after that I lost contact. He just left the car behind. There's no trace of him at all. He left a letter to you. It's in a book._

Nico searched the book until finding what Percy was talking about. A picture of Apollo and a letter fell from its pages.

_To Nico di Angelo,_  
_I was hoping you let me go peacefully... But in the end, I'm leaving on my own._  
_I'm already dead. My soul is limited. Since I don't know when I'll go crazy again, I'm going to end my life here today._  
_You go out to the real world. I'm going to end my life here._  
_You become human. I'm going to remain as a manhwa character._  
_You got out of the predetermined circumstances I created. I will die trapped in the predetermined circumstanced that I created._  
_Isn't life interesting?_  
_I wish you a happy life._  
_And make Will happy._  
_Also, if you see Will, tell him that I'm alive. So she won't be sad. Tell her that I'm living well in this place._  
_Inside of the manhwa that I drew._

* * *

Naomi Solace was worried about her only child and she would let him know.

"Are you going somewhere?" She questioned Will when seeing her son prepared to leave.

"To meet a friend." He lied, trying to hide his sadness.

"You should rest since you're sick." Naomi insisted. "What happened to your father? It's been a week." She pointed out, ignoring Will's swirling emotions.

"He'll probably come. If we just wait for few more days." Will finished the conversation, leaving his mother apartment.

Leaving his phone behind.

That Naomi answered.

"Hello?"

_"Is this Will Solace's number?"_ A male voice asked from the other end of the line.

"Yes. This is Will's number." Naomi answered, curious. "He left it at home. But... Who are you?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Will was ignorant of whom his mother was talking to.

He just decided, on a very stormy day, to spend some of his time on a cold, outside and wet bus stop. Very deep inside of him, his brain was making a joke about how the weather matched his mood.

He sat on the curb of the bus stop, getting soaked in less than two seconds as he hadn't taken an umbrella with him. He leaned his head on the post and closed his eyes for a second, glad that the rain would mask his tears. However, he didn't have the strength to do much now.

His weaken state thanks to spending significant time in the manhwa and the heavy pouring rain was making a deadly combination to his body and soon, Will was losing consciousness in the same position that he was in.

He didn't stay conscious enough to see a car stopping by nor who was driving it.

* * *

The next time Will opened his eyes, he was in a completely different environment.

The first difference was that it wasn't raining. He couldn't feel the rain on him.

The second thing he noticed was the beeping of machines. It was the unmistakable beeping of a hospital machine. _Great... I'm more of a patient than a doctor..._

The last thing he noticed was that, tucked under his neck and in front of his line of vision, there was another arm. He frowned slightly and saw that the extra hand was tangled with his. It took him less than a second to recognize the wedding ring on the extra hand.

And the ring that was back on his own finger.

Will immediately turned his head and was muted by the sight of Nico di Angelo, alive and well, sleeping behind him. Or not sleeping because as soon as Will turned fully to see him, Nico opened his eyes.

"Are you awake? How are you?" He asked him, speaking softly as if there were more people in the room. Will kept staring at him, saying nothing. "Your mother came. I thought she would ask a lot, but she didn't have anything to say." Will continued to listen in silence. "I couldn't say I was your husband, so I just said I was your boyfriend. In a hurry, I showed her this old presentation card." Nico showed him an old card of his- back when he was CEO. "She didn't say anything afterward." Will sighed softly, hoping his mother wouldn't worry much. "I came after spending two years in jail, but it's only been one week here." Nico explained to him. "Honestly, I was worried our times were going at the same rate. For two years, I was afraid you would die from the sadness of being alone. That's a relief." He admitted, relaxing.

Finally, Will had something to say.

"What about Dad?"

Wordlessly, Nico sat up on the bed and helped Will do the same. Then, he pulled out something from his pocket that he gave to Will. It was a photograph of Apollo. Will took the photo, conveying the silent message Nico was giving him.

Apollo was gone.

Will couldn't do anything but to crumble. He leaned on Nico and began to cry for the loss of his father, mourning him with the only person who knew about his fate. Nico simply hugged him tight and let him.

He was there for him now.

* * *

A few more days and Will was finally out of the hospital.

_I hope this doesn't become the norm now..._ He thought to himself while walking next to Nico, who had his arm around his shoulders.

"Wow, who knew?" Nico spoke up, getting Will's attention. "I finally belong to this world." That made Will wonder about something.

"Is it really... the end?" He asked, looking at him. Nico simply looked at him, serious.

"It really is." His reply was emphasized with a kiss on Will's forehead before keep on walking on together.

_Nico di Angelo's story in the manhwa was a happy ending. _

_But the ending between the real Nico di Angelo and Will Solace is still unknown. However... they don't have to think about being in a manhwa. _

_Even if it might be boring and ordinary, I hope they will meet an ending that will last for 50 years._

_Just like any ordinary couple._

_Don't you?_

**● THE ****END **●

* * *

_I want to thank those who read this fan fiction. It gave me more headaches than anything, so I'm glad I was able to finish it. Thank you to those who commented, reviewed and waited patiently every week for the ending to come. I doubt I do something like this for a while._

_I'm preparing a surprise for you guys, so keep tune!_

_I'll see you in other stories!_

_xoxo, SilverHuntresses_


End file.
